The report of the Education technicians on the exam schedule is keeping students, parents, educators, and especially those in charge of schools on tenterhooks. The worry and general expectation, postponement of the School Certificate and Higher School Certificate examinations since November.
The resumption of all classes on February 2, from pre-primary to tertiary under strict sanitary conditions and the introduction of a Testing Team, announced by the Minister last Friday, is applauded by all. However, the new school calendar and the question of the postponement of the SC and HSC exams are worrying all those concerned. SEDEC even made a request to have the national and international exams postponed over the weekend.
School officials believe that only a percentage of students will be ready for the exams scheduled for April. “The students are far from ready. Only the so-called ‘elites’ and the more fortunate who can prepare well through private tuition will be able to take part in these international exams with confidence,” says Bhojeparsad Jughdumby, president of the Union of Private Secondary Education Employees, UPSEE.
The debate remains the face-to-face resumption of the third term, but it is more around the new school calendar. “Compared to the previous batch, which had about a year and three months of face-to-face and online classes and preparation, this batch will have less than a year of preparation. It is important to know that not all students are comparable, whether it be on the intellectual, financial or opportunity levels”. The UPSEE president said that some of the more than 10,000 students who will compete in these two Cambridge University exams have not had the guidance and attention required in the syllabus course. “Educators will have very little time to assess the students at the start of the school year and following this assessment, the completion of the syllabus in parallel with the catch-ups,” he says.
The education system has helped in the pursuit of studies but has not been able to guarantee a good preparation of future candidates. “Many will be penalised because the online education system has not allowed them to follow the syllabus for these exams properly. Ready or not, if the imposition continues, every candidate, whether it is the first or second time, will have to pay the required amount. If students find themselves having to compete in the SC and HSC exams in April, those who fail will become that frustrated population for life, victims of the pandemic but more importantly of the poor handling of the education ministry,” regrets Bhojeparsad Jughdumby. He admits that this report of the Technical Committee of the Ministry of Education, scheduled to be public on Tuesday, 25 January, will be decisive.
Munsoor Kurrimboccus, vice-president of UPSEE, said: “According to the evaluation of the students’ achievements, there is always the solution of having the population that is considered ready in April and the population that requires more reinforcement in November. We are looking forward to this report. We just hope that it will be in the interest of every student.”
