A student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was given the incorrect examination paper during the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) on September 15. It was later on Thursday, October 12, that Pei Chun Public school addressed the matter, saying that the student was seated separately and given extra time to complete the examination because of his disorder.
The student was given a standard paper, instead of being given the Chinese listening comprehension paper at a foundation level. The school stated that the paper was given to the student by an external examiner, and the school was notified only after the examination.
Pei Chun Public School, on being notified, got in contact with the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) regarding the matter and submitted a special consideration form. The school took the initiative to meet with the child and his family, assuring them that their child would not be affected by this and that the child's interest is the top priority.
In an email reply to Channel NewsAsia on Tuesday, SEAB said it would give a fair assessment to the student. "SEAB will take into consideration the circumstances of the incident, the candidate's performance in the school preliminary examinations and in the other PSLE foundation Chinese papers, and the cohort's performance in the subject," it said.
The case is still under investigation.
Father believes son's morale took a hit due to this incident
The father told Channel NewsAsia, he was informed by the vice-principal that the child would not be allowed to appear for a re-examination as it was the rule set by the Education Ministry. He also added that his child's morale took a hit and that his son might not perform as well in his other exams.
"Now I'm worried about how he's going to perform for the English listening comprehension exam as that came after the Chinese paper. The father says his son's hard work has now gone for naught, considering he was unable to answer the paper.
SEAB said that there is an orderly process for the distribution of examination question papers, where all those involved are briefed and made aware of how to tackle the situation. That would include personnel who are assigned to students with special needs.
In 2016, 73 Secondary 5 students from Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School and Woodgrove Secondary School took the wrong O-Level mathematics paper after a mix-up in the subject codes during registration.
