A TOTAL OF 3 961 STUDENTS, as compared with 3 811 in 2011, will write this year’s Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) when it is held on Tuesday, May 8.
According to the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, this figure comprises 1 795 boys and 2 166 girls, who are registered to write the examination at 22 secondary schools across the island.
This year, all five students who had requested permission to write the examination at an early age (that is 10+) have been granted permission.
The ministry has also reported that over 120 students had made requests to be deferred from writing the exam and they include 85 boys and 43 girls.
Of this figure, 106 students are in Class 3, while the other 22 are in Class 4. All the students in Class 3 were granted a deferral based on the criteria that they had not completed a significant portion of the syllabus.
However, of the 22 Class 4 students seeking a deferral, 13 requests were denied.
There were also special requests made by students, primarily for extra time and enlarged print. There are 45 students who have been exempted from this year’s examination.
The BSSEE (usually referred to as the Common Entrance Examination or 11-Plus) will also be taken by over 185 non-nationals. These students have satisfied the immigration requirements.
However, according to the Ministry of Education, “there still remain seven students who have not satisfied the requirements and, therefore, will not be allowed to write the examination next month”. (BGIS)
