School Holidays Moved To May
The Ministry of Education (MOE) will bring the June holidays to 5 May 2020. While HBL went well, it was an intense time of hard work and adjustment for parents, students and teachers. The early June holidays are going to give everyone a rest. Also, it buys us time to open a less restrictive school in June.
With school holidays brought forward, classes will resume on 2 June 2020 (more details on the format of these lessons – physical classes, partial HBL or full HBL – will be released at a later date depending on the national situation at that time). This means that Term 3 is now going to be longer, but MOE is going to give a one-week mid-term break from 20 to 26 July 2020.
These adjustments will apply to all MOE Kindergartens, primary, secondary and Pre-University students, including students from Special Education (SPED) schools. The revised academic calendar is as follows:
- 5 May 2020 to 1 June 2020: School holidays
- 2 June 2020: Start of Term 3
- 20 July 2020 to 26 July 2020: Mid-term break
- 6 September 2020: End of Term 3
Rescheduling Of GCE-Level MTL Examinations
In view of the changes to the academic calendar, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) will reschedule the Mid-Year Mother Tongue Language (MTL) Written Examinations as follows:
| Subject Examined | Original Date | Rescheduled Date |
|---|---|---|
| O-Level MTL (Papers 1 and 2) & A-Level H1 MTL (Papers 1 and 2) | 1 June 2020 8 am | 18 June 2020 2 pm |
| O-Level MTL B (Papers 1 and 2) & A-Level MTL B (Papers 1 and 2) | 2 June 2020 8 am | 19 June 2020 2:30 pm |
Taking into consideration the Term 3 mid-term break from 20 July to 26 July, the listening comprehension for O- and A-level MTL and MTL B will be rescheduled as follows:
| Subject Examined | Original Date | Rescheduled Date |
|---|---|---|
| O-Level MTL and MTL B Listening Comprehension | 21 Jul 2020 | 27 Jul 2020 |
| A-Level MTL and MTL B Listening Comprehension | 22 Jul 2020 | 27 Jul 2020 |
Removal Of Certain Topics From The National Exams
The Common Last Topics (CLTs) will be removed from the national examinations this year, given the impact that the extended CB period has on curriculum time and to further allay students' concerns and anxieties about catching up with the curriculum. The CLT is a set of topics from the MOE-identified syllabus that would be taught by all schools at the end of the academic year.
The CLT gives the flexibility to MOE and SEAB to reduce the scope covered by national examinations should an unforeseen situation arise that does not allow schools to complete their graduated cohort teaching. The CLT will still be taught, but it will not be examined.
Examples of CLT to be removed include "Interactions within the Environment" for PSLE Science, Vectors for O-level Mathematics and "Introduction to the Chemistry of Transition Elements" for A-level H2 Chemistry.
It will not be meaningful and practical to identify CLTs for skill-based subjects such as English and MTL. In such cases, SEAB will take into account the disruption of curriculum time during marking and grading to ensure that all students are assessed fairly.
Summary
MOE will continue to monitor closely the situation of COVID-19 and provide the necessary support to schools, educators and students. Parents are strongly encouraged to keep their children at home during this period of time.
For more information, please refer to the press release by MOE.
