High attendance as schools reopens - Chief Educ. Officer

High attendance as schools reopens – Chief Educ. Officer

Jan 08, 2013 News

– New mandate for submission of SBAs

The Education Ministry has now mandated a deadline for all School-Based Assessments (SBA) for fifth form students preparing for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
Chief Education Officer Olato Sam who was checking the turnout rate of students as schools reopened yesterday, said that by this month end, fifth form students must complete their SBAs, while February, March and April will be used for revision in preparation for the CSEC exams.
“We want all our students, across the board, to really commit themselves and make a resolution that their attendance and punctuality will be of the highest. We can’t get the level of output we desire unless our students and teachers are there on time, and regularly early… and do the work that is expected of them,” the Chief Education Officer noted.
Alluding to the fact that the school visits were also promoted to ensure compliance by school authorities, Sam said that checks were made on school infrastructure and the condition of the surroundings.
“There was one particular instance in Region Ten where due to asbestos removal the compound is being sanitized… at Watooka Primary. The school is due to reopen on Thursday.”
Underscoring that the Education Ministry wants to improve the performance at CSEC, Sam said that parents should encourage their children to adhere to the stringent timetable that is in place, while encouraging students to constantly revise.
At the primary level there is also a higher level of literacy programme being plugged into the system. He said this year all of the indicators are being used coming out of the assessments to improve students’ performance rates, which will generally result in better exam results.