'Sometimes the correct answer isn't the model answer': Teacher gives P6 student full marks for his unexpected answer

There's been some debate over whether there is too much rigidity in Singapore's education system.

While efforts have been made to reduce the emphasis on written examinations, they remain a key area of focus.

On top of this, overly-rigid examination criteria might unfairly penalise students in examinations.

An example of this was surfaced on Facebook on June 6, by a teacher at an enrichment centre in Singapore.

Question : can a woman have children if she has had her ovaries removed?

The teacher shared this example of a question from a Primary Six student's homework:

The question posed was: "Due to health issues, a woman needs to have the two parts Y [i.e. the ovaries] removed. Will she still be able to have children? Explain your answer clearly."

Student's answer: she can have a baby with a donated egg

This was the student's answer:

"Yes. Although she doesn't have the ovaries, she still has a womb. She can have a donated fertilised egg that can still develop into a baby."

The teacher awarded the student the full two marks allocated to the question, and commended the student for his unconventional answer.

Teacher: this is "not the answer that is expected"

However, the teacher also pointed out that this answer deviated from "the answer that is expected".

The teacher then penned down remarks on the student's homework, encouraging him to "bear in mind for PSLE" that it would be important to "think about the concept that the examiner would be asking for."

According to the teacher's Facebook post, the expected answer for this question was:

"No, she will not have children. The ovaries produce the eggs and without the eggs, there will not be fertilisation and no baby."

However, it's not known whether the student's answer would have been accepted by an examination marker, as the teacher said "I also hope schools and examination markers will accept his answer."