SINGAPORE - The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) will be headed by a new chief executive from April 1.

Mr Yue Lip Sin, 53, who is currently the deputy chief executive of SEAB, will be taking over from Miss Tan Lay Choo, 61, who will be retiring on March 31, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and SEAB announced in a statement on Monday (Feb 25).

Miss Tan's retirement was announced last December. She joined the education service in 1981, and has held several key positions in MOE in her 37 years of service.

She has taught in several schools, including Raffles Institution and Bukit Panjang Government High School, where she served as its principal.

Miss Tan was appointed chief executive of SEAB on April 1, 2008.

She was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2003 for her contributions to the education service.

Her successor, Mr Yue, has held various key positions in MOE, having served as the ministry's director of mother tongue languages and principal of Chung Cheng High School.

He joined SEAB in December 2011 as the director of assessment and research, and was appointed director of assessment planning and development in April 2014.

MOE and SEAB said in the joint statement: "With 29 years of experience in the education service, Mr Yue will continue to ensure that SEAB builds on its capabilities in the development and conduct of the national examinations system."