STUDENTS at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will start their school term later in the next two years due to its involvement in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

About 5,000 athletes and officials taking part in the Games will be housed in several of the student hostels in the campus in Boon Lay.

The National Institute of Education, which is located within the campus, has also been designated as the Village Square where athletes can take part in cultural and educational activities when they are not competing.

This year, the school term will start a week later, on Aug 10, to make way for upgrading works on the campus during the semester break.

Next year, the university will delay the start of the school year by a further three weeks to Aug 30 so that school activities will not clash with the Games, which runs from Aug 14 to 26.

The number of academic weeks will not be affected and students will have a shorter vacation break later on to make up for the delayed term start.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.