With the rise of COVID-19 cases in Singapore, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has announced special arrangements for students who may miss their Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) 2021 papers.
In a press release on Sunday (26 September), MOE and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) released these arrangements for PSLE 2021 for students who may be affected by COVID-19.
MOE PSLE 2021: Special Consideration For Kids Affected By COVID-19
Image source: Facebook / Chan Chun Sing
MOE and SEAB jointly state that PSLE 2021 candidates who miss any of their national examination papers with valid reasons can apply for special consideration. This includes concerns such as COVID-19, medical leave or compassionate reasons.
Special consideration is a well-established procedure that awards students with projected grades through a “fair and rigorous evidence-based methodology” as per MOE.
SEAB will be considering multiple sources of data when awarding a grade for these affected candidates. This includes data such as the student’s performance in other papers for that affected subject in both national and school-based examinations.
To ensure a fair assessment for all candidates, it will also look into the school cohort’s performance in national and school-based examinations.
“All special consideration applications are assessed on each case’s merit, to ensure that the grades awarded are as accurate and fair as possible,” says MOE and SEAB.
MOE PSLE 2021: Two Scenarios For Students Missing Papers In Their National Examination Subject
In their joint statement, MOE and SEAB released illustrated explanations to further explain the special consideration process in two scenarios.
Scenario 1: Student who misses all papers of the subject
Image source: MOE
Image source: MOE
Scenario 2: Student who misses one or more papers of the subject
Image source: MOE
Image source: MOE
Special Arrangements For Students On Quarantine Order
Both MOE and SEAB recognise that there would be instances where the student would still wish to have the opportunity in taking the national year-end examination. These may include those who have been placed on Quarantine Order (QO) but are otherwise still well.
With this, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has approved a set of procedures for students on QO to be allowed to apply for leave from quarantine so they could sit for their examinations.
“This is an additional option made available to all national examination candidates this year, starting from the PSLE examinations, beginning 30 September 2021, and for GCE N(A)/N(T), O and A level examinations thereafter,” says the ministry.
PSLE students who may have to be accompanied to the examination venue have also been approved by MOH a similar leave arrangement for an accompanying family member or caregiver should they also be in quarantine.
Both the PSLE candidate and the accompanying family member must then satisfy a “rigorous testing requirement” and adhere to the following procedures:
- Have obtained a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction entry swab at the beginning of the QO.
- Have completed a self-swab with Antigen Rapid Tests (ART) kits at home and test Ag- within 24 hours before each of their examination papers.
- Travel arrangements to their examination venue must be by private transport or on foot. It should also only be between their place of residence and the examination venue with no additional stops in between. Travel by public transport such as buses or MRT is not permitted.
- Inform their schools that they intend to take the specific paper in order for the school to prepare the examination venue arrangements for them.
MOE notes that it will be providing more details of the requirements to candidates in due course. This includes the application procedure and the expected timelines for processing these applications.
For the safety of the students and invigilators in examination venues and schools, rooms that will be used for QO candidates will be thoroughly wiped down after their examinations. These students will also need to adhere to the following:
- Take the examinations in a separate classroom or hall from the rest of the school cohort
- Sit 3m apart in exam-style seating
- Avoid mingling with other candidates as they will be given designated entry and exit points, restrooms, etc
- Start examinations 30 minutes after the scheduled start time for the rest of the school cohort
- Stagger their reporting time and venue
Image source: Facebook / Chan Chun Sing
MOE & SEAB: Updated Special Arrangements For Students On Approved Absence During PSLE 2021
There are also updated examination arrangements for candidates who are on Approved Absence (AA) due to being placed on MOH’s mandatory testing regime or Health Risk Warning alert.
These students must do a self-swab with ART test kits at home at regular intervals in compliance with the ministry’s testing regime. They should also inform their schools of the outcome before the examination and until their AA is rescinded.
This is in addition to the candidates on AA completing their MOH-mandated entry PCR test and testing negative before sitting for their examinations.
The other remaining arrangements and prevailing safe management measures implemented for the national exams announced before will continue to be in place.
“MOE and SEAB will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and provide updates if there are further changes to the examination arrangements,” the joint statement adds.
All students and staff are also urged to continue:
- Practising good personal hygiene
- Adhering to safe management measures
- Exercising social responsibility
- Stay away from school and seek educational attention if feeling unwell
Lead image source from Facebook / Chan Chun Sing.
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