NUS students told to declare travel plans in wake of foreign student’s expulsion for breaking LOA

Singapore—Amidst the continuing spread of Covid-19, students of the National University of Singapore (NUS) have been told that they must declare their travel plans after one foreign national on a student exchange programme was expelled after she breached her mandatory 14-day leave of absence (LOA). This student had also lied on her travel declaration.

The expulsion of the foreign student was announced by the university on March 7.

The university’s Dean of Students,  Associate Professor Leong Ching, said, “An international exchange student had breached her LOA and made a false travel declaration.

The Board of Discipline has terminated her student exchange programme with NUS and she will return to her home university. She has been officially reprimanded and a report sent to her home university.

Students who are put on LOA are required to stay home.

The announcement did not indicate what country the student is from nor which university she attends. The details of her LOA breach have also not been disclosed.

NUS has said that as the case is a disciplinary matter, details would remain “internal and confidential”.

NUS students will be required to declare their travel plans through July 31. If they do not comply with this directive, they will not be allowed to access LumiNUS, NUS’ online learning system from March 16 and onward, the university told its students.

Students who have no plans for travelling are still required to make this clear to the university.

This was announced in a circular issued by director of NUS’ Office of Safety, Health and Environment yesterday, Dr Peck Thian Guan, The New Paper (TNP) reports.

Dr Peck wrote that if a student does not comply with the directives it would be “considered an offence and will be dealt with in accordance with the NUS Code of Conduct and NUS student disciplinary procedures”.

An NUS student was already suspended in February due to violating the isolation procedures of the school by attending lectures. He was given an official reprimand by the university.

Last month as well, one of the university’s professors was linked to a local cluster of Covid-19 cases, the one from the Grace Assembly of God churches. Members of NUS’ staff who had associated with this faculty member were told to go on a compulsory LOA of two weeks, the length of time of the novel coronavirus’ incubation.

Just before this year’s Lunar New Year celebrations in January, it was announced by the Ministry of Education that students and teachers who were visiting China needed to go on mandatory LOA upon their return to Singapore. —/TISG

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