Singaporean actor Andie Chen has decided to let his children skip school to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and to “lessen the load of (their) school”.
Urged others to let their children skip school as well
The 35-year-old revealed this in an Instagram post on Mar. 29, where he also urged others who are able to let their children skip school, to do so.
Chen, who is married to Taiwanese actress Katie Pang, added that staying home does not mean that his children do not do anything.
According to him, his wife and him “bring them for swims and walks outdoors”.
When they are indoors, his children “do stories, workbooks and board games”.
Chen then ended his post by asking his followers to “stay home and stay safe”.
Home-based learning once every week for Primary, Secondary and Junior College students
On Mar. 27, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed in an interview with Singapore media that the Ministry of Education had found that long-term absenteeism rates in schools have already crept up during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He advised against closing of schools to deal with the pandemic.
On the same day, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung announced the “blended learning model” initiative, where students will have one day of Home-Based Learning (HBL) every week starting from Apr. 2020.
Here’s the schedule:
- Primary schools – Wednesday
- Secondary schools – Thursday
- Junior college / Centralised institute – Friday
After receiving queries from many concerned parents, Ong also explained why schools in Singapore will not close, citing disruption to students, their parents, and the fact that the virus does not seem to affect young children as much as adults.
Education Minister Ong Ye Kung explains why schools are not closed in 675-word Facebook post
Related Article
17 years ago, on March 27, 2003, all schools in S’pore were shut because of SARS
Top image via andiechen on Instagram
