Exam papers to still be marked in the UK

After the two recent cases of lost examination scripts, Members of Parliament raised several questions about the marking of O- and A-level papers.

A number of MPs also suggested alternatives, including getting local teachers to mark the scripts in Singapore and flying Cambridge examiners here to audit the processes.

However, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said in Parliament yesterday that the Ministry of Education would continue to send exam papers to Cambridge Assessment in the UK for marking while mitigating the risk of losing scripts.

Of the 1.1 million answer scripts generated every year in the GCE-level exams, 800,000 are marked by Cambridge Assessment while the rest, including mother tongue papers, are handled locally.

RESOURCES

Mr Ong said that marking all the scripts locally would require "a very substantial amount of highly qualified resources".

He added: "As these are required during the school vacation period, we need to be mindful about the workload and well-being of our teachers if all subjects are to be marked locally."

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To reduce the risk of lost scripts, Mr Ong said that by the end of this year, marking for all GCE exams will be on-screen.

He said the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board and Cambridge Assessment have been working closely to mark hard-copy answer scripts electronically since 2015.

However, when asked if there was a possibility of exams being taken entirely online, Mr Ong said that for Singapore, it was still "some time away".