Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will be announcing later this week whether home-based learning (HBL) will be extended for students in primary schools.

This was announced by Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing in Parliament on Monday (Oct. 4), in response to several question posed by Members of Parliament (MPs) on the recent decision to impose HBL in primary schools.

According to Chan, he will not be making the announcement personally in Parliament there and then, as he would prefer if school leaders and teachers can stay focused on the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), which is still ongoing.

He also said that MOE will be proceeding with their internal preparations during this time, and will communicate their decision to the educators involved before announcing it publicly later this week.

Secondary school students largely vaccinated

In response to questions asking whether HBL will be extended to secondary schools and beyond, Chan said that the consideration for students in primary schools and secondary schools are "quite different, due to their differing vaccination status.

Chan pointed out that most students in primary schools, apart from a portion of primary six students, are unvaccinated, making it necessary for MOE to take extra precautions to protect the health of the unvaccinated students.

"For secondary schools and above, majority, or the vast majority of our students have already been vaccinated. So the kind of anxiety that the students or the families may face is quite different," said Chan.

He added that MOE will continue to do what is necessary to make sure that the upcoming O-Level and A-Level examinations can be conducted safely.

Follow and listen to our podcast here

Top image via MOE/FB.