Provisions for Candidates with Medical Certificate to Resit Primary School Leaving Examination

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Education (a) whether provisions can be made for candidates to resit the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) when they have a medical certificate which deems them medically unfit to sit for the examination; and (b) whether this can be done without retaining the student for another year.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: Candidates who have been certified to be medically unfit to sit for the PSLE will not need to resit the examination as there are methods which allow us to assess the students’ attainment levels.

Candidates who are absent from a subject at the PSLE with valid reason(s) will be given a projected T-score for the subject. The projected T-score takes into consideration the candidate's performance in that subject in school, his/her peers' performance in the subject in school and national examinations.

If the candidate is absent for the entire PSLE, a PSLE aggregate score would similarly be projected for the candidate using the same approach. He/she will not be required to resit the PSLE.