Telecommuting Options for School Teachers and School Staff
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether telecommuting or remote teaching options can be provided for vulnerable school staff, such as pregnant women or the elderly, during COVID-19 outbreaks. In response to Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Minister for Education Lawrence Wong explained that MOE aligns with national workforce advisories while ensuring physical presence for school continuity. He stated that schools exercise flexibility where operationally feasible, allowing staff to work from home on days without physical classes or duties. Additionally, extra care is taken for staff with underlying medical conditions or pregnancy complications by avoiding deployment to high-exposure roles like gate duties. MOE continues to implement stringent safe management measures to ensure schools remain safe environments and to minimize exposure risks for all.
Transcript
65 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Education given the rise in community COVID-19 cases, whether the option for telecommuting or remote teaching can be made available for teachers or staff who fall within the vulnerable group like pregnant women, elderly or those with immune deficiency.
Mr Lawrence Wong: MOE aligns our workforce arrangements for teachers and staff with the workforce advisories issued by the Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Public Service Division (PSD).
With the return of all students to schools on a daily basis since 29 June 2020, we will need teachers and staff to be physically present to support school operations, and to ensure that the learning of our students is not disrupted. We have put in place stringent safe management measures to ensure that schools remain a safe environment for both staff and students.
The schools will exercise flexibility on work arrangement where operationally feasible. For example, school staff may be allowed to:
(a) Report/leave at staggered hours if they have no lessons or duties assigned for the start/end of the school day; or
(b) Work from home on a day where they have no physical classes or other assigned duties requiring their physical presence in school.
In addition, schools pay close attention to school staff who may be more vulnerable to COVID-19, such as staff with underlying medical conditions or pregnancy with complications. Extra care is taken when considering their deployment. For example, they are not assigned to roles with greater exposure such as taking temperature at the school gate. We will continue to make every effort to ensure the well-being of our staff and minimise the risk of exposure.