UPDATE on Apr. 23 at 5:30pm: This article has been updated to include the British Council's statement.

UPDATE on Apr. 25 at 7:10pm: This article has been updated to include SIM's statement.

Students from Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) and one of its partner universities, the University of London, were once again left in the lurch regarding their end-of-semester examinations.

Despite their exams beginning on Apr. 29, 2024, some students told Mothership that they have yet to be notified of the specific locations of their exams.

Furthermore, the British Council — the exam authority appointed by UOL — reportedly advised students to bring extension plugs for their exams.

This is supposedly due to a lack of charging points available at the venues, students told Mothership.

This comes on the back of news that they would have to pay an additional S$203 per exam registration fee for their end-of-semester examinations.

They had been given less than a month to make payment.

The exams will also be conducted via an online platform, even though students must be physically present in the exam hall.

Previously, they were able to take their exams at home.

Venue locations

The three examination test venues are located in Eunos, Tampines, and Jurong East.

However, different papers may be taken at different venues, with candidates not allowed to choose their test venue.

This has led to students expressing concern as they have not yet been told at which of the three venues their papers will be held.

"Candidates with multiple exams in a day must travel between centres located in Eunos, Jurong, and central Singapore, presenting logistical challenges," one student told Mothership.

According to the UOL-SIM exam timetable posted online, the latest AM exam session begins at 12:30pm, while the PM sessions begin at 3:45pm.

Assuming that an exam paper takes two hours to complete, this leaves little time for students to travel between venues.

For instance, Google Maps estimates that it will take 45 minutes to travel between the Jurong East venue and the Eunos venue via public transport.

Furthermore, according to the British Council's exam guidelines, candidates must also report to the venue one hour before the start of the examination for registration and entry.

In an update sent to students on Apr. 22, SIM-UOL has clarified its exam guidelines to deconflict the exam timings for students who might have previously had to sit for two papers in one day.

However, this has raised further concerns about the logistics of such a late adjustment.

"The British Council will [now] have to find a place for everyone again since exam dates are changing one week prior," a student said.

"Imagine knowing the location you have to report to and the timing the day before your paper."

In response to Mothership's queries, a British Council spokesperson said that while the British Council is overseeing a large candidate pool across multiple tech-enabled exam venues, they will ensure candidates will receive sufficient advance notice regarding their exam location and venue arrangements.

The spokesperson also clarified that UOL is responsible for managing students' exam schedules, not the British Council.

"UOL will make the necessary timetable adjustments to ensure that candidates aren't required to travel to two test venues on the same day. They are actively reviewing the logistics of the examination schedule to minimise inconvenience for students and will contact the impacted students."

Extension cords

Further baffling was a notification by the school encouraging them to "share" charging points, due to a lack of availability across venues.

Screenshots from a Telegram group chat viewed by Mothership revealed how students were discussing "chipping in" to bring extension cords for sharing.

However, some pointed out that it was perplexing to charge students a registration fee — which is supposed to cover venue sourcing and logistics — only for the selected venues to have insufficient charging points.

"Imagine getting charged S$200 just to be asked to bring an extension plug," one pointed out.

An email seen by Mothership supposedly sent by the SIM-UOL admin team, explained that the British Council was "overwhelmed with logistical issues for the sourcing of examination venues".

It also advised students to share charging ports as "not all examination venues will have sufficient power sockets to charge your devices".

The British Council spokesperson confirmed that all students will have dedicated power points to charge their laptops during the exams, and they are only expected to bring their laptop chargers with them.

Problems of in-person exams

The kerfuffle has led to students questioning the need to bring back in-person examinations in the first place.

Previously, examinations by SIM-UOL were held virtually.

Not only has the switch to in-person examinations incurred extra fees, the logistical issues have caused "anguish and anxiety", said one student, who is studying economics and politics.

"This is atrocious because [in] prior years, we did examinations online at home, with online invigilation, and everything worked out well," she said.

"I cannot help but feel the school is milking [its] students dry."

She pointed out that students pay S$10,000 to S$15,000 a year to study at SIM-UOL.

Another student said that at S$203 per paper, a typical student would end up paying around S$3,400 to sit for the mandatory examinations.

Despite this, the university has failed to effectively communicate information about the exam venues, in addition to failing to source adequately-equipped venues for the "required" laptops.

"We have highlighted this to multiple news outlets, which shared our struggles, but to no avail," the student said.

"The uncertainty surrounding these arrangements is causing undue stress and inconvenience to all involved."

SIM's response

On Apr. 25, SIM stated that UOL "holds the authority to source for and appoint third party examination venues" and assessment and examination fees are not determined by SIM.

SIM added that they were informed by the British Council that onboarding information specific to each examination was only sent to students on the morning of Apr. 23.

"We understand that earlier communication was not possible as UOL was still accommodating Singaporean students who had requests past the registration deadline," said SIM.

"We are with our students and will continue to extend our support in every way possible. Our sole priority now is to ensure that our students receive the information they need from both UOL and the British Council for a smooth examination experience."

Top image from Google Maps