560 quarantined students sat for first PSLE written paper; procedures 'can be improved', parents say

Another guardian who solely needed to be generally known as Mrs Tan instructed CNA that she was disenchanted and “utterly appalled” at how the PSLE process for youngsters serving quarantine orders was dealt with. 

Her son was unable to take the English paper as his quarantine order was issued on Wednesday morning, only a day earlier than the paper. He managed to take a seat for the arithmetic paper on Friday. 

They got one hour to determine whether or not her son would take the arithmetic paper after they had been knowledgeable of the quarantine order, she mentioned. 

The PCR take a look at outcomes might take as much as 48 hours, and if he needed to take the paper, the take a look at ought to be taken as quickly as doable to ensure the outcomes had been out earlier than the paper on Friday, they had been instructed. 

“The whole thing, I feel that it can be improved,” mentioned Mrs Tan, including that her son was the one one in his class who needed to serve a quarantine order so she was unable to get assist and steering from different parents. 

“This is not the first year having COVID and PSLE. COVID started last year in March. Last year, there’s students taking the PSLE too. There’s ample time, from last year to this year, to think about it.” 

After two days of scrambling, Mrs Tan managed to submit her son’s entry PCR take a look at and ART outcomes the night earlier than the arithmetic paper on Friday. She thought the household might “finally relax and have a peaceful dinner”, she mentioned. 

But half an hour later, the authorities known as her once more to request one other PCR take a look at for her son later that evening. 

“I was like ‘Huh, why PCR test again when we did it yesterday with a negative report?’” mentioned Mrs Tan. She insisted that her son had simply taken his entry PCR take a look at and refused a second take a look at. 

“Today, he can take the maths paper after a great deal, after a good effort. We went through a lot of difficulties, but finally he got there, he can take the paper. But he can’t sleep well, he was troubled,” she mentioned. 

Adding that she additionally didn't handle to sleep, Mrs Tan mentioned: “My mind is so active but my body is so tired, I’m drained out. I have to worry that he got COVID, on one hand about his health, at the same time I have to worry about his PSLE maths paper.” 

Mrs Tan additionally worries about whether or not they should undergo the identical confusion for his subsequent few papers, she mentioned. She can be managing different family issues whereas serving a quarantine order herself. 

“I have to really struggle with all of these things. You don’t know how frustrated I am.” 

Like Mrs Tan, after the ministries introduced the procedures for students on quarantine order who needed to take the PSLE, Ms Tabina needed to handle a flurry of calls from the authorities arranging for an entry PCR take a look at. 

“(I received a call) from the MOH that the swabber is coming. Then suddenly the swabber will not come because the Government already cancelled it. Then suddenly the swabber is coming, then off again,” she instructed CNA. 

Finally, her son’s college instructed her she might decline the swabber’s go to as a result of they'd settle for her son’s earlier PCR take a look at outcomes for him to take the papers.

“And then I said why, because that’s under the Government rules? My point is I need to decide if it is a yes or a no. The school says you can decline it, but of course we need to follow what the Government says,” mentioned Ms Tabina. 

“We're happy at the end of the day, but the process and the procedure that we went through, it is not easy, to be honest,” mentioned Ms Tabina, including that she was nonetheless “feeling shaky” from the stress. 

“But at the end of the day, our kids are the champion, and we already won the battle ... because they experienced (getting to) sit down on the first day of PSLE.”