Students Receiving Annotated National Examination Certificates and Impact on Opportunities Opened to Them

Mr David Hoe asked the Minister for Education regarding access arrangement annotations (a) how many candidates received an annotated national examination certificate or result slip in each of the past five years; (b) what feedback or appeals the Ministry and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board have received; (c) whether the Ministry has assessed the impact on students' pathways, opportunities or self-confidence; and (d) whether the Ministry can consider reviewing how to minimise stigma while preserving fairness.

Access Arrangements (AA) are granted to students with physical or learning disabilities to support them in sitting national examinations without compromising assessment objectives.

National examinations are administered under standardised conditions to ensure a fair examination. Where AA require significant modification of these conditions, such as extra time, exemption from certain examination components or use of external assistance. The student's certificate would be annotated to reflect this. Annotations are not a reflection of the student's ability or potential.

In the last five years, a total of about 4,500, or around 5%, of the Primary School leaving Examination, GCE "N", "O" and "A" level examination certificates were annotated due to AA per year.

The AA annotation is displayed as a typographical symbol beside the subject on the examination certificate. Details of the AA provisions and any medical conditions are not indicated on the certificate and would not be shared by the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB). School postings and access to educational programmes and opportunities do not take this annotation into account. Employers are expected to abide by the fair employment principles set out by the Ministry of Manpower and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, which provide assurance that annotations are not used inappropriately to discriminate against students.

The annotation policy reflects a balanced approach that supports students who require different examination arrangements for them to demonstrate their skills, knowledge and understanding, while preserving the fairness and integrity for all.

The Ministry of Education and SEAB have, thus far, not received reports of discrimination arising from the annotation. We will continue to gather feedback and review this practice regularly to ensure it achieves the intent.