Public schools across the island are ready for the third term, which officially starts for students next Tuesday.
This was signalled by Minister of Education and Human Resource Development, Ronald Jones, today, as he spoke to the media during a break at the health fair hosted for staff at the Elsie Payne Complex, Constitution Road.
“We are ready, all teachers have been allocated or re-allocated and principals and the ministry are generally ready for that role. It was a short break, not more than two weeks. For us, at the ministry it is just a break – a transition between one term and the other,” said Jones.
Noting that the break this year was different, he explained: “This is a peculiar year, because Easter comes later into the [schools’] calendar . . . . They will enjoy three or four days [off] during Easter, so they will have a little break, recognising of course, that as we move very quickly into May, we are moving into the Caribbean Education Council exams.
“We are into our transfer exam from primary into secondary, so, they can’t be that much down time for students who have to make sure their school-based assessments are ready and sent on to the Caribbean Examinations Council and that they are ready to take the various exams.”
Queried about the phasing out of the Common Entrance Examination, Jones said: “Until we are able to get other measurement modalities, it is an exam at the end of the primary school age . . . . ”
He acknowledged that the debate was still open as to what methodology the ministry would use. He added: “Part of the problem relates to comparisons made between schools 300 or 350 years old and very recent schools, some less than 50, 20 or 10 years.”
The Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (Common Entrance Examination) will be held during this school term, on Tuesday, May 3.
This term will comprise 11 weeks and ends on Thursday, June 23 and Friday, June 24, for students and teachers respectively. (BGIS)
