Mobile Guardian app glitch issues progressively fixed for some students, others turn to pen and paper

SINGAPORE – Students affected by a glitch on an app installed in their school-issued iPads are slowly getting their devices fixed, but some had to wait for hours at their schools’ IT department on Aug 2.

Those who could not get their devices restarted because of the issue with the Mobile Guardian app had to go back to using pen and paper for note-taking and class assignments.

The Straits Times understands that more than 1,000 students from at least five Ministry of Education (MOE) schools could not access the internet and their classroom materials from their iPads due to

the glitch in the device management app.

The schools which ST knows were affected by the glitch are Methodist Girls’ School, Nan Hua High School, Nan Chiau High School, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School and St Andrew’s Secondary School.

From as early as July 30, some students reported that they could not turn their iPads on or switch them off, while others could not connect to Wi-Fi and received the following error message: “Guided Access app unavailable. Please contact your administrator.”

An MOE spokesman said on Aug 1 that Mobile Guardian had rolled out an app update to all iPad users, and is working with schools to support students who need further technical assistance. 

Mobile Guardian did not respond to queries from ST.

Students whom ST spoke to said that iPad usage is progressively being restored with the newest update, but they had to visit their school’s IT department to fix Wi-Fi connectivity issues first. 

One 16-year-old Methodist Girls’ School student said that she and her classmates did not encounter any issues with their learning devices on Aug 2. 

However, a 15-year-old student from the same school said that although she had managed to get her iPad fixed after a visit to the IT desk, all data saved after July 29 had disappeared.

“There was a long queue at the IT department,” she said. “They told me there were more than 1,000 students who had issues with their iPads.”

She added that some students had to wait for about an hour. 

A 15-year-old student at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School said that some devices still could not connect to the internet. 

“Our notes and worksheets can also no longer be accessed, so everyone has to resort to using pen and paper,” she said. “The school has told us that they are working to solve the issue, and have tried to come up with some solutions.” 

All of the students declined to be named.

CHIJ St Nicholas’ IT department had tried to schedule every class for a session to solve issues, but was unable to get to all by Aug 2.

It is unclear how many schools were affected by this glitch. ST has contacted MOE for more information. 

Correction note: The story has been updated for clarity.