Posted on 04/05/2003 4:00:09 PM PST by Lessismore
Institutions will reopen in phases, starting with JCs, CIs
SCHOOLS which have been shut down since March 27 because of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or Sars, will reopen in phases over the next two weeks.
Junior colleges and centralised institutes will reopen on Wednesday, followed by secondary schools on April 14, and pre-schools and primary schools on April 16.
With the staggered reopenings, the mid-year O- and A-level mother tongue language examinations will be postponed by a week to June 9.
But the mid-year June break, which had been cut short by a week because of the March 27 closure, will stay at three weeks, from June 7 to 29.
About 600,000 youngsters were kept out of school for 10 days after parents were concerned that schools could be breeding grounds for the infectious disease.
Since then, the infection rate here has gone down with two new confirmed Sars patients yesterday, taking the total to 103. Seventy-two people have recovered from the disease, which has killed at least 89 people worldwide.
Education Minister Teo Chee Hean said yesterday: 'We now know more about Sars and how to protect ourselves from it. This allows us to reopen our schools while putting in precautions to safeguard our children.'
When school reopens, all students and parents will be asked if they have gone abroad during the break.
If they have been to countries affected by Sars, they will be asked to stay at home for 10 days from the date of their return.
Students who have been to other countries will also have their temperature taken every day for 10 days after their return.
Students who are unwell will be isolated and their parents will be asked to take them to the doctor.
School staff will also be screened and notices will be put up to advise visitors who are sick or who have been to Sars-infected countries not to enter the premises. Cleaning of schools will be stepped up when classes start.
But parents, the minister said, must also play their part. For instance, they must take a feverish child to the doctor and not let the child go to school.
Students will be taught how to protect themselves and their friends against the virus when school reopens. Instruction materials, customised for different age groups, are being prepared for this.
If someone in a school is suspected of having the virus, the ministry will close the school for three days so that students and staff who have had contact with the infected person are tracked down. This was the case with Ngee Ann Polytechnic, which had a student who came down with the disease. The Clementi polytechnic reopened yesterday.
The minister's reassurances that schools will be taking precautions went down well with parents interviewed yesterday.
A typical reaction came from Madam Karamjit Kaur, 35, a housewife who has a daughter in Primary 4 and another in Secondary 3.
'I agree with the minister. We have to get on with our lives and our children, with their education. But I must say I am relieved to be given another nine days because young children can be quite careless.'
If you have queries about schools' reopening, call the Ministry of Education's Customer Service Centre hotline on 6872-2220 between 9 am and 6 pm today. Or you can go to the website: www.moe.gov.sg
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