Boy born with hand deformities undeterred by PSLE challenge

A love for learning and problem-solving spurs 12-year-old to excel in life and studies

- Elisha Tushara

Born with radial clubhand, a deformity that resulted in both his forearms being perpendicular to his wrists, Ean Chan Yi An, 12, had to undergo therapy at KK Women's and Children's Hospital at age five to learn how to hold a pencil.

Despite his initial struggles, the Park View Primary School (PVPS) pupil has seized every opportunity to learn new things.

In Primary 5 and 6, Ean took part in a floorball competition during his school's Sports Day.

After learning how to play the guitar in Primary 5, he was chosen to be part of an ensemble to perform during Teachers' Day celebrations.

Ms Pamela See Yuen Heng, upper-primary assistant year-head at PVPS, said that despite his physical limitations, Ean has never used it as an excuse to submit late and untidy homework.

"You know how difficult Chinese characters are to write, not like ABC. But Ean's handwriting is neat and tidy. Compared to an able person, you won't believe that this is his handwriting," she noted.

Ean was one of 38,088 pupils who took the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) this year. Similar to last year, 98.4 per cent of the batch did well enough to progress to secondary school.