All mid-year examinations in S'pore cancelled: Education Minister Ong Ye Kung

"Stay safe, stay home and stay curious," the Education Minister said.

Zhangxin Zheng| April 03, 2020, 05:23 PM

As part of the nationwide "circuit breaker" effort, all primary, secondary, Pre-University and Institutes of Higher Learning, including students from Special Education (SPED) schools, will shift to full Home-Based Learning (HBL) from April 8 to May 4, 2020.

Following the national address made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Apr. 3, the multi-ministry taskforce shared more details about the new measures that the government is implementing.

Home-Based Learning from April 8 to May 4

These additional measures work as a "circuit breaker" to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Singapore as the country experiences a recent spike in the number of locally transmitted cases.

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, said that the one-day trial in the past week has helped the students and teachers to prepare for HBL.

The ministry has loaned 4,000 laptops and WiFi dongles to students in need.

Mid-year examinations cancelled

With HBL, some adjustments have been made to school-based assessments and examinations for the year, the Minister of Education, Ong Ye Kung, announced.

All school-based Mid-Year Examinations will be cancelled.

However, national examinations, including the mid-year GCE O- and A-Level Mother Tongue Language examinations in June, Year-End Examinations and Primary School Leaving Examinations will proceed as planned, and with the necessary precautionary measures in place.

IHLs are already having almost all their class-based modules online, and stepped up safe distancing measures on their campuses. Many universities have adjusted their assessments to pass/fail format.

More adjustments will be made when necessary and Ong urged the students to "stay safe, stay [at] home, and stay curious" during this period.

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