Attendance is a requirement to meet regulatory and course requirements. The Vice-Principal or designated person will be responsible for administering/handling students with attendance issues.
The attendance policy of GCS is as follows:
a. Attendance requirements by ICA for student pass holders must be at least 90%.
b. Attendance requirements for all other students who do not require ICA’s student pass must be at least 75%.
c. Attendance requirements for sitting assessments, graduation, and awards must be at least 75% for non-STP and 90% for STP students.
d. Application and approval for a leave of absence. Leave of absence conditions:
- Students should apply Leave of absence at least 14 working days in advance.
- Any urgent application of Leave of absence (LOA) will be approved on a case-by-case basis
- Students should attached documentary evidence, depending on the reasons/nature of Leave of Absence (LOA)
- If LOA falls within the Exam Period, the student is deemed failed for the exam and shall resit and pay the corresponding fee. Only a valid physical medical certificate (MC) is acceptable to be allowed to resit without the corresponding fee.
e. For absenteeism based on medical grounds, a medical certificate must be presented and issued by certified general practitioners, polyclinics, or hospitals as proof of absence.
All students will be informed of the Attendance requirement during Pre-Course Counselling, in Student Handbook, Orientation and published on GCS’s website.
Intervention measures to help students with poor conduct or attendance:
Intervention measures for attendance or conduct issues strictly follow the Standardized Disciplinary Action & Warning Escalation Framework, as defined below:
- Level 0 (Advisory / Initial Contact): If a STP student is absent for 2 days within the duration of the course without a valid reason, Admin Staff/Course Coordinator will contact the student to ascertain the reason and provide an informal advisory.
- Stage 1 (First Warning Letter): If a STP student is absent for 3 days within the duration of the course without a valid reason, Head of Academic/Operations & Admin Manager to issue the 1st Warning Letter and schedule a counselling session with the Head of Academic/Operations & Admin Manager. The Disciplinary Counselling Form must be signed and acknowledged by the student.
- Stage 2 (Second Warning Letter): If a STP student is absent for 5 days within the duration of the course without a valid reason, Vice-Principal/Head of Academic to issue the 2nd Warning Letter and schedule a counselling session with the Vice-Principal/Head of Academic. The Disciplinary Counselling Form must be signed and acknowledged by the student.
- Stage 3 (Final Warning Letter & ICA Escalation):
- If a STP student is absent for 7 days within the duration of the course without a valid reason or absent consecutive for 7 days without a valid reason, Principal/Vice-Principal to issue Final Warning Letter, and initiate Student Pass cancellation procedures with ICA.
- If an STP student’s monthly attendance falls below 90%, Admin Staff immediately notify ICA.
- For local (non-STP) students whose attendance risks dropping below 75%, formal reminders and warnings are issued per the Stage 1–3 framework, alongside required counselling.