Suspense over the date for the Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance Examination has ended, but the Ministry of Education has found that more than half of the students may not be ready to sit the test on July 28.
Speaking during a virtual press conference yesterday, Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw explained that the more than one-month extension from the June 20 date was necessary to give students an opportunity to prepare for the test also known as the Common Entrance or 11-Plus.
In an immediate reaction, the Barbados Union of Teachers and the Association of Public Primary Schools Principals said while they were on board for the new date, they were concerned that about the extra toll it would put on teachers with the term scheduled to end July 9.
Bradshaw told Barbadians that a recent assessment of Class 4 students revealed some very alarming statistics regarding readiness of the pupils, who have been relying heavily on online instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The decision has been taken that we will hold the Common Entrance Examination this year on the 28th of July, particularly because many of our teachers have said to us that the students require additional time. It is difficult to say how much time every child will need, but we believe this is a reasonable time to allow for students to be able to work on the concepts, and to ensure that they have some of the foundation things that are necessary to be able to transition them,” said Bradshaw. (CLM)
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