By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 23 June 2009 1521 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) has announced several precautionary measures to deal with the H1N1 flu when schools reopen on June 29.
The MOE said it will issue a seven-day leave of absence to all school staff and students returning from affected countries on or after June 22. The measure will also apply to kindergartens and childcare centres.
The ministry said schools will remind all their staff and students to exercise social responsibility to declare their travel history if they have been to the affected countries.
It added that they are to stay at home for seven days before returning to school if they have visited the affected countries.
Speaking at a news conference, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said the ministry believes about one to two per cent of students and staff will return from the affected countries. But his ministry is not taking any chances.
He said: "What we want to do is we are all very clear on how we are approaching H1N1. We want to slow down the spread of the disease because you can't eradicate it and, as I have mentioned, slowing down makes sense.
"It helps (us) to gain more time (and) more information....for vaccines to be developed, and our healthcare resources are not overwhelmed and we can continue to lead life as normal as possible.
"Our only weapon here is social distancing and social responsibility and that means if all those who are unwell can do their part, all those who are well can continue with life as possible. But if those who are sick spread disease too quickly, then you have a lot of disruptions to schools, businesses, community events."
Dr Ng cautioned that schools will have to step up their vigilance measures as things will not return to normalcy for a long term.
He added that if clusters are found in schools, then some classes, or if necessary, the whole school will be closed for a period of time. Singaporeans will have to be prepared for these disruptions as and when clusters are found.
He said: "We may have to close classes....or even schools. And instead of thinking that this is just a one-off (thing), you may very well have situations where the schools close, open and then close (again). I want the public and parents to prepare for this disruptive pattern."
Schools have started contacting students and parents to check on their travel history and health status.
If they have travelled to an affected country, the student or staff will be issued with a leave of absence and asked to stay away from school for seven days from the date of return to Singapore.
For example, if the student returns from an affected country on 23 June, he can only go back to school on 1 July.
Students on leave of absence will receive home-based learning materials so that they can keep up with their classmates. There will also be make-up lessons for these students.
Travel declaration forms will also be sent to all staff, parents, vendors and service providers.
When schools reopen on Monday, teachers will check the travel declaration forms to ensure that students have not travelled to affected countries.
Meanwhile, twice-daily temperature checks will also resume in schools until further notice.
Another challenge facing the Education Ministry is the 'O' and 'A' level examinations which will begin when school reopens. In fact, the oral exams will start immediately after school reopen, and the ministry has plans to deal with the H1N1 cases which may emerge during the exams season.
Students who miss the oral exams as a result of their leave of absence or if they are ill, will have their exam dates rescheduled.
For written exams, Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board's chief executive, Tan Lay Choo, said: "If they show some flu-like symptoms and are on Leave Of Absence or Home Quarantine Order, we will find some way to segregate them and allow them to take the exam in some kind of isolated rooms with all the extra precautions."
Dr Ng said: "I don't want a situation where a student, with a high fever, feels compelled and takes his exam. We will make adjustments, if he can't."
The MOE is also stepping up its public education programme on good personal hygiene and social responsibility for students.
- CNA/yt/ir
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) has announced several precautionary measures to deal with the H1N1 flu when schools reopen on June 29.The MOE said it will issue a seven-day leave of absence to all school staff and students returning from affected countries on or after June 22. The measure will also apply to kindergartens and childcare centres.
The ministry said schools will remind all their staff and students to exercise social responsibility to declare their travel history if they have been to the affected countries.
It added that they are to stay at home for seven days before returning to school if they have visited the affected countries.
Speaking at a news conference, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said the ministry believes about one to two per cent of students and staff will return from the affected countries. But his ministry is not taking any chances.
He said: "What we want to do is we are all very clear on how we are approaching H1N1. We want to slow down the spread of the disease because you can't eradicate it and, as I have mentioned, slowing down makes sense.
"It helps (us) to gain more time (and) more information....for vaccines to be developed, and our healthcare resources are not overwhelmed and we can continue to lead life as normal as possible.
"Our only weapon here is social distancing and social responsibility and that means if all those who are unwell can do their part, all those who are well can continue with life as possible. But if those who are sick spread disease too quickly, then you have a lot of disruptions to schools, businesses, community events."
Dr Ng cautioned that schools will have to step up their vigilance measures as things will not return to normalcy for a long term.
He added that if clusters are found in schools, then some classes, or if necessary, the whole school will be closed for a period of time. Singaporeans will have to be prepared for these disruptions as and when clusters are found.
He said: "We may have to close classes....or even schools. And instead of thinking that this is just a one-off (thing), you may very well have situations where the schools close, open and then close (again). I want the public and parents to prepare for this disruptive pattern."
Schools have started contacting students and parents to check on their travel history and health status.
If they have travelled to an affected country, the student or staff will be issued with a leave of absence and asked to stay away from school for seven days from the date of return to Singapore.
For example, if the student returns from an affected country on 23 June, he can only go back to school on 1 July.
Students on leave of absence will receive home-based learning materials so that they can keep up with their classmates. There will also be make-up lessons for these students.
Travel declaration forms will also be sent to all staff, parents, vendors and service providers.
When schools reopen on Monday, teachers will check the travel declaration forms to ensure that students have not travelled to affected countries.
Meanwhile, twice-daily temperature checks will also resume in schools until further notice.
Another challenge facing the Education Ministry is the 'O' and 'A' level examinations which will begin when school reopens. In fact, the oral exams will start immediately after school reopen, and the ministry has plans to deal with the H1N1 cases which may emerge during the exams season.
Students who miss the oral exams as a result of their leave of absence or if they are ill, will have their exam dates rescheduled.
For written exams, Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board's chief executive, Tan Lay Choo, said: "If they show some flu-like symptoms and are on Leave Of Absence or Home Quarantine Order, we will find some way to segregate them and allow them to take the exam in some kind of isolated rooms with all the extra precautions."
Dr Ng said: "I don't want a situation where a student, with a high fever, feels compelled and takes his exam. We will make adjustments, if he can't."
The MOE is also stepping up its public education programme on good personal hygiene and social responsibility for students.
- CNA/yt/ir
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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