When World War II started, Tao Nan terminated its classes at the start of 1942. Similar to many Singapore schools during the war, the Tao Nan school building was occupied by the Japanese army, and it was heard that they used it as a military headquarters. Immediately after the war, the Hokkien Huay Kuan took charge of the repairs to the school and Tao Nan reopened in October 1945, two months after the Japanese surrendered.