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CCA records will not be unduly penalised: MOE

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Students will still be recognised for being selected to represent their school, even if event did not take place

Co-curricular activities (CCAs) have been forced to take a back seat this year, but students' records will not be unduly penalised, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has said.

As long as students have been selected to represent their schools for a competition or event, they will be recognised, even if the occasion did not take place.

Other adjustments have been made this year to Leaps 2.0, a framework that assesses students' development outside the classroom, said Mrs Tan Chen Kee, divisional director of MOE's student development curriculum division, in response to queries from The Straits Times.

From June, schools have also come up with creative ways to conduct enrichment programmes, like virtual CCA sessions and class-based activities, while adhering to safe management rules.

Secondary schools, junior colleges and Millennia Institute were also given the green light to resume certain CCAs from July 27, provided they keep to a maximum of 20 students for each activity, and where possible, fix student groupings to minimise intermingling.

But activities that involve high levels of body contact, such as taekwondo sparring and rugby scrums, or high exposure to aerosol and splatters, such as playing wind instruments or singing in a choir, remain suspended.

CCAs had been put on hold since March as schools implemented safe management precautions. Competitions such as the National School Games were also cancelled.

Mrs Tan said the percentage of students who will attain either one or two bonus points this year is projected to remain similar to previous years. These points are used by secondary school students for admission to junior colleges, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education.

Besides adhering to MOE's provision on recognising students who have been chosen to represent their schools, education institutions will also recognise school, class and CCA-based leadership appointments, considering how these responsibilities might have been changed for meaningful learning.

Time spent discussing and planning values-in-action projects - which are learning experiences meant to help students understand the needs of others and reflect on what they have learnt - will also be counted even though they were suspended.

Showing care and appreciation to front-line workers, and creating simple activities to encourage others to stay home during the circuit breaker period were some ways suggested.

Mr Jonathan Ram, Chua Chu Kang Secondary School's subject head of physical education and CCAs, said students will not be shortchanged in terms of having their CCA participation recognised.

"It also doesn't depend on one year of contribution. There are other years to look at," he said.

FOR MORE, READ THE STRAITS TIMES

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