NUS President's message on Commencement

The following letter was sent to all staff and students by NUS President, Professor Tan Eng Chye.

20 May 2021

Dear Colleagues and Students

Since late April, we have seen a steep spike in COVID-19 cases in the community, especially the number of unlinked cases. As the situation has not improved, the Multi-Ministry Taskforce recently announced new tightened measures to arrest the increasing number of cases in the community. These measures, one of which includes restrictions on large gatherings, took effect from Sunday, 16 May 2021 and will take us through to Sunday, 13 June 2021.

The current situation is very fluid and the outlook ahead is uncertain. As such, I have shared with both the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 that the University can no longer hold in-person Commencement ceremonies for the two cohorts, which were scheduled from 17 June to end July 2021. We will, instead, be moving to virtual Commencement ceremonies, which will retain elements of our traditional proceedings.

The decision to move to online ceremonies was not made lightly. Many of our graduates had registered for the ceremonies and they were looking forward to the celebrative event. Our colleagues involved in Commencement had also proceeded with meticulous plans to organise the event with the necessary safe management measures in place. However, health and safety is critical when planning an event of this scale, and given the prevailing challenging circumstances, we do not wish to place all those in attendance at risk.

The Registrar’s Office will share more information on the online Commencement ceremonies with the graduates of both classes of 2020 and 2021 in due course.

Please keep well and stay safe.

With best wishes

Professor Tan Eng Chye

Click here to read Prof Tan's message to the Class of 2020.

Click here to read Prof Tan's message to the Class of 2021.