Ministry of Education More examinations could go digital in future
Minister of education Ong Ye Kung said that more examinations could go digital in future.

There is positive feedback to the pilot exercise but the ministry needs to consider the readiness of schools and students. He also said that we should not inadvertently disadvantage students who may not be exposed to computers as much as others.

I wish to suggest how these problems could be addressed.

We should make digital examinations the default option, but we should give the option to students who are not familiar with using computers to submit written scripts. Perhaps 80 percent may opt for the typed scrips while 20 % will submit the written scripts. We can reduce the marking load considerably.

The written scripts can be scanned and submitted to the markers digitally. This will avoid the risk of scripts being lost in transit. It also ensure that the markers can receive the scripts more quickly and return the results. The time taken for marking can be reduced considerably. 

It will also help the process of reviewing the marking in case of disputes. The examination script can be sent to another marker for independent marking.

On the readiness of schools, there should be no problem with WiFi. The schools will, however, need to have laptops that are suitable for use by the students for the examinations. These laptops should be provided by the schools. As the cost is quite low, perhaps the school can provide a laptop for each student. This laptop should be kept in the class.

Prior to the examination, the laptop can be reset to remove any data that is stored there.

We can use technology to improve the marking process. I hope that the minister of education can adopt my suggestions.

Tan Kin Lian

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