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

Education Minister Desmond Lee observing Bukit Batok Secondary School’s emergency preparedness exercise. The police shared their observations of the exercise with the school.

Vanessa Paige Chelvan

Published Oct 23, 2026, 01:00 PM

Updated Oct 23, 2026, 01:00 PM

Bukit Batok Secondary School held an armed intruder drill on Oct 22. About 1,100 students and 160 staff practised lockdown, hiding and alerting authorities.

Education Minister Desmond Lee said regular practice builds “confidence, resilience and preparedness”. He praised students and teachers for looking out for one another during the exercise.

MOE said schools run about three emergency drills a year with the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Singapore Police Force. The drills are reviewed often to meet new threats and support SGSecure.

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.

Principal Shirley Lee (centre) with Secondary 3 students Delicia Myrtle Deselva and Jayden Chan. Delicia said the experience has made her more confident about what to do in a real emergency. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Principal Shirley Lee (centre) with Secondary 3 students Delicia Myrtle Deselva and Jayden Chan. Delicia said the experience has made her more confident about what to do in a real emergency.

PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

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.

Ministry of Education

Education and schools

教育部长李智陞视察了武吉巴督中学的应急演习。警方与学校分享了他们对此次演习的观察结果。

凡妮莎·佩奇·切尔万

发布于2026年10月23日下午1点

更新于2026年10月23日下午1点

武吉巴督中学于 10 月 22 日举行了武装入侵者演习。约 1100 名学生和 160 名教职员工练习了封锁、躲藏和向当局发出警报等技能。

教育部长李智陞表示，定期练习可以增强“信心、韧性和准备能力”。他赞扬学生和老师在演习期间互相照顾。

教育部表示，学校每年会与新加坡民防部队和新加坡警察部队联合开展大约三次应急演习。这些演习会定期进行审查，以应对新的威胁并支持“新加坡安全保障计划”（SGSecure）。

新加坡——10月22日，一名“访客”闯入武吉巴督中学后变得具有攻击性，拔出一把刀，引发学校封锁，学生和教职员工争相逃生。

教室门被锁上，学生和教职员工都躲了起来，学校启动了应急响应程序。

这名“武装入侵者”是约 1100 名学生和 160 名教职员工参与的紧急演习的一部分，旨在让他们为可能的安全威胁做好准备。

教育部长李智陞表示，他很高兴看到学生和老师在演习期间互相照顾，他对此表示赞赏。

“虽然我们希望这种情况永远不会发生，但经常练习有助于在危机发生时建立信心、韧性和准备能力，”他在 10 月 23 日的 Facebook 帖子中写道。

演习期间，学校通过内部通讯渠道发出警报并进入封锁状态。

学生和教职员工遵循“跑-躲-报”协议，该协议教导他们如果可能就跑到安全的地方，如果无法逃脱就躲起来，并通知当局。

这次演习是学校为应对紧急情况（从火灾和炸弹威胁到访客变得敌对）而进行的例行演练的一部分。

教育部于 10 月 23 日表示，所有小学、中学、初级学院、千禧学院和特殊教育学校每年都会进行大约三次应急演习。

这些演习是与新加坡民防部队和新加坡警察部队共同策划的，旨在尽可能地贴近现实，帮助学校改进相关程序。

教育部表示，他们还会定期审查各种情景，以便让学校做好应对新的和不断变化的威胁的准备。

在武吉巴督中学，15岁的中三学生德莉西亚·默特尔·德塞尔瓦是最早发现模拟袭击者的学生之一。

当她看到那名男子拿着刀时，她赶紧跑回教室，告诉了老师。学生们随即锁上教室门，躲了起来。

德莉西亚说，这次经历让她更有信心在真正的紧急情况下该怎么做。

“我从这些经历中学到了很多，也学会了如何指导人们该做什么、该采取什么行动，”她说。

校长李雪莉（中）与中三学生德莉西亚·默特尔·德塞尔瓦和杰登·陈合影。德莉西亚表示，这次经历让她更有信心在真正的紧急情况下该如何应对。图片来源：联合早报

校长李雪莉（中）与中三学生德莉西亚·默特尔·德塞尔瓦和杰登·陈合影。德莉西亚表示，这次经历让她更有信心在真正的紧急情况下该如何应对。

图片来源：联合早报

校长雪莉·李表示，这样的演习有助于学生在真正发生安全事件时感到更有准备。

她补充说，随着安全威胁变得越来越复杂，学校正在让学生为不同的情况做好准备。

学校体育和课外活动部门负责人普拉巴卡兰·贾纳塔南表示，了解如何应对紧急情况是一项重要的生活技能，其意义远不止于学校生活。

教育部表示，每次演习结束后，学校领导和教师都会与学生和教职员工一起回顾演习内容，以强化他们在紧急情况下应该采取的措施。

该部还与学校和高等院校合作，为教职员工举办研讨会和讨论会，讨论如何应对校园内外可能出现的威胁。

这些努力也是更广泛的 SGSecure 运动的一部分，该运动鼓励新加坡人保持警惕，了解在紧急情况下该怎么做，并互相照应。

Vanessa Paige Chelvan是《海峡时报》的教育记者。她偶尔也会撰写一些关于育儿、工作和家庭生活的评论文章。

教育部

教育和学校