Protocol for Students who Test COVID-19-positive with Self-administered Antigen Rapid Tests Prior to School Academic Assessment

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Education (a) what is the approach taken by schools regarding students diagnosed with COVID-19 through home Antigen Rapid Tests (ARTs) prior to a school weighted assessment or school examination; and (b) whether there has been a policy to require such ART-positive students to produce a doctor's medical certificate in order to have a valid reason for being absent from the weighted assessment or school examination.

ART-positive students who are well or with mild symptoms are to adhere to MOH's Protocol 2 and self-isolate at home. After 72 hours, such students may exit self-isolation and resume normal activities with an ART-negative result. Otherwise, vaccinated students or students below 12 years old may automatically exit self-isolation after Day 7. Partially-vaccinated or unvaccinated students aged 12 and above may automatically exit self-isolation after Day 14.

Such students would not be required to produce a medical certificate to cover their absence, even if they have a weighted assessment (WA) or school examination. However, schools may request to have sight of the photo evidence of the ART-positive test result.

I thank the Minister of State for her answer. Sir, I was approached by a Clementi resident who gave feedback that one of her sons' classmates encountered some difficulty with the school that they went to. My resident told me that because a medical certificate (MC) was not submitted, the son's classmate was informed that the WA might not be deemed absent with valid reason, but instead be deemed absent without valid reason.

Can I ask the Minister of State what avenues are available to students or parents who may, for whatever reason, be encountering such difficulties and how best may they take this up?

I thank the Member for his question. Please surface the contact details of your resident's son's classmate to us so that we can check on what has happened. But like I have mentioned, since the streamlined MOH protocol was announced, students' absence is treated as valid without being required to produce an MC. I would also like to say that, I guess a concern might be around the fact that the student might have a WA. So, should a WA be a factor, then when students miss this WA, the practice is actually for them to complete the task as practice papers, because we do not wish for the school-based examinations to be high stakes and to contribute to too much stress.

And students who miss a WA or the school examination for valid reasons, such as being ill because of COVID-19, they would have their results rebased, taking into consideration other WAs or other components of the school examination.