National Grade Six Assessment pushed back a week to cater for CWC

Students preparing to write the National Grade Six Assessment for the first time this year, now have an extra week to prepare as the Education Ministry has taken a decision to postpone the examination in the face of the Cricket World Cup (CWC).

The assessment, which replaced the Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (SSEE), was scheduled for April 4 and 5, but will now be held on April 11 and 12.

Commenting on the change on Thursday, Education Minister Shaik Baksh said in the light of the traffic disruption expected during the CWC matches, the decision was made and all schools countrywide have been notified.

The ministry has alerted schools that the subjects timetabled for April 4, would be done on April 11, and those timetabled for April 5, would be done on April 12.

Baksh said the new exam times would have no bearing on the Easter holidays and schools will reopen on April 16 as previously scheduled.

Meanwhile, the ministry has taken a decision that the weighting in relation to the assessment at the three grades would be five percent in Grade Two, ten percent in Grade Four and 85% in Grade Six.

Schools countrywide have also been advised by the ministry to put all systems in place to ensure that the credibility of the assessments is not compromised.

The question of the assessment’s credibility was raised at the recent meeting of the Region Four Region-al Democratic Council (RDC) by Chairman of the Education Committee Anoopwattie Veeren.

Veeren said it had been revealed that there was a suggestion that scores attained in the Grade Two and Grade Four assessments be used for remedial purposes.

She asked that the council write to the minister making this proposal known. Additionally, she said it was found that in some Region Four schools teachers were being allowed to administer the exams and were even able to ‘cheat’ for the children.

She said some teachers were assisting students far too much and this could create some amount of inconsistency in the way the exams were administered. Veeren requested too that the ministry do more to ensure that the assessment was properly monitored.

Speaking with this newspaper on the issues raised, Minister Baksh explained that performances of primary school children at levels two, four and six would be centrally computerized and placement at secondary schools would be determined by aggregate scores.

He said the exams would be conducted by the ministry and external supervisors. Baksh said there was no room for inconsistencies and the ministry was working to strengthen systems at the Grade Two and Four assessment levels.

For the Grade Six assessment, he said, the same safeguards which were used for the SSEE would be applied. Centres would be established throughout the country and the ministry would also utilize the services of invigilators. Additionally, teachers from various schools would be shifted around. “