The Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) will be administered at the 21 Government secondary schools, as has been done in previous years.
In a statement from the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Acting Chief Education Officer, Joy Adamson, said that while requests were made for Class Four students to write the examination at their respective primary schools (101 exam centres) it would create a logistics challenge.
Adamson explained that it would require “extensive human resources”, including Ministry personnel, supervisors, invigilators and police officers, which are currently not available.
“The BSSEE 2020 will be administered at the 21 Government secondary schools and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI). Secondary school teachers will supervise the examination as usual. The administrators at the centres will be responsible for the layout of the rooms to maintain the required physical distancing of six feet apart. A police officer will be stationed at each centre,” Adamson said.
The structure of the exam will also remain the same, with students having 30 minutes to complete the essay, followed by the English paper, which will be one hour and 20 minutes in duration. The Mathematics paper will be written next, with one hour and 15 minutes allotted.
There will be a break between the English and Mathematics papers. Guidelines will be forwarded to the parents and guardians of students sitting the exam. (BGIS)
