By Santokh Singh

HOW soon we forget.

Just six years ago, there was another virus, far deadlier, which upset our lives and our school curriculum.

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) killed 32 Singaporeans and infected hundreds.

Aside from the sad and unfortunate loss of life, Singapore stood tall for the manner in which it fought the Sars virus.

But even then, there were disturbing incidents which reflected the sheer irresponsibility of some Singaporeans.

There was the man who ignored a quarantine order and went down to a coffee shop to have his beer.

And there was the incident, still fresh in my mind, that was reported in The New Paper on 18 Apr that year.

It told of several 'kiasu' parents who got their children to lie to their teachers about their families' travel histories just so their kids would not miss classes.

Singapore schools had issued travel declaration forms to students, to be signed by their parents, on the family's recent travel history.

The response? Parents who signed declaration forms deliberately provided false information and, worse, told their children to lie to teachers.

The Ministry of Education (MOE), which had also repeatedly stressed social responsibility, confirmed that it was aware of parents making false declarations.

Its spokesman was quoted as saying then: 'We were disappointed when we learnt it. The ministry urges all parents to exercise social responsibility and work with the principals and teachers of our schools to keep our children safe.'

Life & death

That Singaporean parents, especially those with children sitting for crucial examinations and tests, take education seriously is an understatement.

For some, it seems almost as important as life and death (at least that is the implication, going by the gamble taken by the parents then).

These are the same parents who would consider lessons far more important than the risk of H1N1 infection. If they could lie in a deadly situation like Sars, would they hesitate over a not-so-deadly flu outbreak?

Given this possibility, should schools go ahead with plans to re-open after the school holidays next week?

Especially if the aim, as Minister for Education Ng Eng Hen put it, is to 'to slow down and 'pace-out' the spread of the virus'?

'This', he said yesterday, referring to the decision to re-open on schedule, 'is important; it will buy us time to know more about the disease and how to treat it.'

How to slow down the rate of infection and prevent our health care system from becoming overwhelmed?

Keep schools closed for another week. There are good and pragmatic reasons to consider this:

It would allow all Singapore students who would have just returned from holiday overseas the mandatory one-week quarantine.

It would prevent a serious outbreak within a school should just one parent choose to fudge his children's travel history for fear of his kids missing precious classroom time.

It would remove the ethical dilemma for parents weighing honesty and social responsibility, against self-interest.

The equal misery of a one-week cooling off period would be fair to both students and teachers. If everyone is following the same home-based learning programme, students who are quarantined would not have to fear being disadvantaged.

And teachers would not have to do double work - prepare one set of lessons for students who turn up in school, and another set for those quarantined at home.

Schools picked as venues for the Asian Youth Games (AYG) would have minimised contact between foreigners and locals.

All the other measures can kick in after that one week. An extra seven days and we would have bought ourselves a little more time and, hopefully, slowed down the spread before the critical exam period.

Yes, life must go on.

But, having taught in mainstream schools for 10 years, and with four children in mainstream schools now, I am convinced that a week of home-based learning is not going to set them back in any way.

Recent history is proof of this. Singapore implemented the same home-based learning programme for three weeks during the Sars outbreak in 2003, and were none the worse for it.

We were still among the world's best in The International Maths and Science Study.

The cohort that lived through Sars did not fare any worse than their predecessors. I am confident that the current cohort will be just as able.

If we take it as given that Singapore parents would die for their kids, it becomes a no-brainer that some would lie to ensure them that edge.

A seven-day grace period would go a long way to placate grade-anxious parents - and avoid them forcing their kids to lie to their teachers.

This article was first published in The New Paper.