Since the start of the academic semester last month, certain National University of Singapore faculties have reverted fully to physical classes with safe distancing measures in place.

There has been a surge of Covid-19 cases in school, with my faculty seeing 32 cases reported over the weekend before Chinese New Year. This eventually forced my classes to be shifted online for a week for disinfection purposes and to reduce the spread of the virus.

As one of the 32 students who tested positive for the virus, I am concerned about how students are expected to attend all classes on site unless they test positive or are issued with a health risk warning.

I am worried about being reinfected as I do not want to undergo the same ordeal again. Hence, I hope to see greater effort from universities to not compromise on the health and safety of their students.

While Singapore is gradually treating Covid-19 as endemic, universities should still not let their guard down and instead give their students more liberty to choose whether to attend classes in person or online, instead of mandating that students attend in-person classes.

There is a need for them to work more closely with the Ministry of Education to adopt a similar approach as that in the workforce, where employers still allow their staff to work from home despite the Government's easing of measures (MOM to guide firms on work-from-home plans, rather than rushing into laws, Jan 11).

This flexibility would safeguard students' and their families' health while ensuring that their learning is also not compromised.

With the spike in cases in the country, it is even more pivotal for universities to take on a more cautious and calibrated approach in resuming in-person lessons.

I hope to see them putting in even more effort to manage the situation, with the health and safety of their students as their top priority.

Lynn Neo Si Jie

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-allow-uni-students-to-choose-between-online-and-in-person-classes