By Shila Naidu
With additional reporting by Swan Tan

IMPERIAL College's view that the A levels are not helpful in selecting high fliers does not apply to Singapore, said the Education Ministry.

In a statement to The New Paper, the MOE's spokesman said: 'The standards and integrity of the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-level examinations are rigorous and based on statistical evidence.

'SEAB (Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board) and the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate (UCLES), who are responsible for the setting of standards and the awarding of grades, ensure that there are stringent checks and quality control measures in place,' said the MOE spokesman.

The United Kingdom (UK) also gives its candidates options that are disallowed in Singapore. This includes retaking 'certain units to better their grades before the results are aggregated with other units into a final A-level grade,' said the MOE spokesperson.

Local A-level candidates also study a curriculum that is very different from the UK one.

The MOE spokesman said: 'In Singapore, the Singapore-Cambridge A-level examinations are based on the Singapore A-level curriculum which emphasises breadth of study and multi-disciplinary learning...'.

Imperial College's Rector, Sir Richard Sykes also mentioned how 'grade inflation' has aggravated the problem of not being able to pinpoint the cream of the crop.

'The concern over grade inflation, as referred to in the UK, is not an issue in the Singapore A-levels. Students' performance in the recent Singapore-Cambridge A-level examinations has been broadly similar to that in previous years,' said MOE's spokesman.

The spokesman added that 'there has been little change in the average A-level performance of students over the past three years'.

The MOE is certain there is no cause for alarm as 'the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-level examinations are separate and different from the UK A-level examinations'.

'The Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-level qualifications are well-established and accepted by universities both at home and abroad.

'The top UK universities have a high regard for the Singapore A-levels and are keen to admit our students. We are confident that this will continue in the future,' she said.

This is evident from what RJC principal Mrs Lim Lai Cheng said: '... last year, 64 RJC students received offers of admission from Imperial College.

' (I) am not sure how many eventually took up the offers'.

The MOE is also certain that the A levels are a reliable indicator of which students will come out on top at university.

'... The examinations assess the ability of some of our most able students, and help to sieve out candidates with the ability to benefit from the rigour of a university education,' said the MOE spokesman.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Jun 10, 2008.

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