He overcame odds to take exam after brain tumour surgery

Gongshang Primary pupil had to miss PSLE in 2019 and was bedridden for months

- Amelia Teng

An operation to remove a cancerous brain tumour three years ago left Izzat Hakim Sharif bedridden for over half a year, and unable to speak, swallow, move or walk.

He also could not attend school, and had to undergo several months of radiation and chemotherapy.

That also meant Izzat had to miss the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in 2019, when he was in Primary 6 in Gongshang Primary School.

He returned to school this year after regaining some strength, and with the support of his family and school, was able to sit the exam.

Collecting his results in a wheelchair with his parents on Wednesday, Izzat, 15, said he was happy, particularly with the A grade that he got for his foundation-level mathematics. He scored Bs for English language and science.

Izzat was one of 37,095 pupils who took the PSLE this year. Similar to last year, 98.4 per cent of the batch did well enough to progress to secondary school.

This is the second year the PSLE was held under the new Achievement Level (AL) scoring system.

This year, 68.4 per cent of the cohort qualified for the Express course in secondary school, 18.7 per cent were eligible for the Normal (Academic) course, and 11.3 per cent for Normal (Technical).