No penalty for students arriving late to PSLE due to train disruptions

SINGAPORE — Pupils sitting the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) written papers, starting on Sept 26, will be given the full duration of the paper if they reach the examination centre before the end of the paper.

Responding to media queries on Sept 25, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) said: "There are existing arrangements which students have been briefed [on]."

The board added that candidates would not be penalised for being late for the examination due to train service disruptions.

This comes after an hours-long disruption to train services on the East-West Line (EWL) on Sept 25, affecting the stretch of stations between Boon Lay and Queenstown.

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post on the same day that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and train operator SMRT "will assess and confirm during engineering hours tonight" whether normal train service can resume on Sept 26.

SMRT eventually announced that the disruption would continue for a second day. There would be no train service between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations, with shuttle trains available between Boon Lay and Jurong East, and Buona Vista and Queenstown.

LTA said in a separate Facebook post that it has informed SEAB to work out arrangements, as Sept 26 is the first day of the PSLE written papers.

The first PSLE paper, on Sept 26, is English language and the last, on Oct 2, is higher mother tongue language.

Felicia Tang, whose son is sitting the PSLE, said they will take a bus to school on Sept 26 instead of the train.

Her son, who studies in a primary school in the west, usually takes a train on the East-West Line on his own to school. But Tang will be accompanying him on the bus ride on Sept 26 to ensure that he does not get lost on the way to school.

ALSO READ: No train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations for rest of the day: LTA

• Additional reporting by AsiaOne

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.