PSLE Mother Tongue Language Oral Exam Delayed On 15 Aug
On 15 Aug, about 700 students ended their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) Mother Tongue Language (MTL) oral examination later than expected due to a delay.
It was a result of technical issues, with examiners finding a lag while logging into the online examination system.
The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) eventually managed to resolve it at 9am.
Delay in PSLE Mother Tongue oral examination
This year’s PSLE MTL oral examination spans two days on 15 Aug and 16 Aug, at 8am and 11am each day. On 15 Aug, 17,800 students sat for the test.
Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao, SEAB said that some examiners experienced a lag when they tried logging into the online examination system.
Lianhe Zaobao reported that at least five primary schools had the exam postponed for one to two hours, with 4% of candidates affected.
In some cases, only those sitting for the PSLE Chinese oral examination experienced the delay. For others, it affected oral exams for all mother tongue languages.
SEAB managed to resolve the issue at 9am.
Meanwhile, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that the PSLE English oral examination proceeded as scheduled.
Schools prepare refreshments for affected candidates
Parents reportedly received a notification about the matter at 10am.
Additionally, Nan Hua Primary School posted a notice stating that candidates will be dismissed later due to an “unexpected nationwide delay.”
The notice also said the postponement did not place any student at a disadvantage.
One of them, 12-year-old Lin, was in the first batch of candidates sitting for the test. She told Lianhe Zaobao that she entered the preparation room at about 8am.
About 40 minutes later, a teacher entered the room to inform them that there was a delay due to technical issues.
She revealed that other than feeling surprised, she wasn’t emotionally affected by the postponement. Instead, she used the time to prepare for the test.
Lin’s mother said she did not have any concerns either. “Such system problems are also unpredictable, so we can understand,” she added.
Several schools like Nan Hua Primary School and Pei Chun Public School also prepared snacks such as bread and biscuits for students.
SEAB promises to address issue
To mitigate the impact of the delay, SEAB deployed more examiners to schools with a higher number of candidates.
The examiners had their usual breaks and SEAB confirmed that students received refreshments as well.
The board also said they would work with schools to ensure that the assessment of the affected pupils’ examinations took the delay into consideration.
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Featured image adapted from Lianhe Zaobao and Facebook.
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