Armed intruder drill puts Bukit Batok Secondary School students, staff to the test

SINGAPORE – A “visitor” turned hostile after entering Bukit Batok Secondary School on Oct 22, pulling out a knife and triggering a lockdown as students and staff scrambled to safety.

Classroom doors were locked, and students and staff stayed out of sight as the school activated its emergency response procedures.

The “armed intruder” was part of an emergency drill involving about 1,100 students and 160 staff, aimed at preparing them for possible security threats.

Education Minister Desmond Lee said he was encouraged to see students and teachers looking out for one another during the exercise, which he observed.

“While we hope such situations never occur, regular practice helps build confidence, resilience and preparedness in the event of a crisis,” he said in a Facebook post on Oct 23.

During the drill, the school sent out alerts through its internal communication channels and went into lockdown.

Students and staff followed the Run-Hide-Tell protocol, which teaches them to run to safety if possible, hide if they cannot escape, and alert the authorities.

The exercise was part of regular drills that schools hold to prepare for emergencies, from fires and bomb threats to visitors who turn hostile.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Oct 23 that all primary and secondary schools, junior colleges, Millennia Institute and special education schools conduct about three emergency drills each year.

The drills are planned with the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Singapore Police Force to make them as realistic as possible and help schools improve their procedures.

MOE said it also regularly reviews the scenarios to prepare schools for new and changing threats.

At Bukit Batok Secondary, Secondary 3 student Delicia Myrtle Deselva, 15, was among the first to spot the simulated attacker.

When she saw the man holding a knife, she hurried to her classroom and alerted her teacher. The students then locked the doors and stayed out of sight.

Delicia said the experience has made her more confident about what to do in a real emergency.

“I’ve learned a lot from these experiences and how I can actually instruct people on what to do and what actions to take,” she said.

School principal Shirley Lee said such drills help students feel more prepared should a real security incident occur.

As security threats get more complex, schools are preparing students for different situations, she added.

Prabaakaran Janarthanan, the school’s head of department for physical education and co-curricular activities, said knowing how to respond to emergencies is an important life skill that extends beyond school.

MOE said that after each drill, school leaders and teachers go through what happened with students and staff to reinforce what they should do during an emergency.

The ministry also works with schools and institutes of higher learning to hold workshops and discussions for staff on responding to possible threats in and around their campuses.

These efforts are also part of the wider SGSecure movement, which encourages Singaporeans to stay alert, know what to do in an emergency and look out for one another.

Vanessa Paige Chelvan is an education correspondent at The Straits Times. She also writes the occasional commentary on parenthood, work and family life.