SINGAPORE — There are no plans to cancel national examinations here, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Thursday (March 19) night. 

The ministry was responding to queries from TODAY on whether the move to cancel national examinations in the United Kingdom (UK) will have any impact on exams here. 

The authorities in the UK had announced on Thursday that it will be closing schools indefinitely and cancelling the A-Level and GCSE national exams there in an effort to curb the Covid-19 outbreak on its shores. 

As of Friday morning, 3,269 people had tested positive and 144 people had died from the coronavirus in the UK.

While the GCE O- and A-Level examinations in Singapore are jointly conducted by MOE, Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) and Cambridge Assessment — the examining authority located in Britain — the national exams in both countries have not been linked since MOE took over the management of the O-Level exams in 2002 and A-Level exams in 2006.

Cambridge Assessment, however, still assists with marking the bulk of the written exams scripts that are generated during the yearly examinations.

MOE in its reply added that the mid-year GCE-level exams for mother tongue language subjects will carry on as scheduled in June.

“To ensure the well-being and safety of the invigilators and candidates, SEAB will work with the MOE and schools to put in place the necessary precautionary measures for the examinations,” it said.