Students can rewrite SEA

EDUCATION Minister Anthony Garcia said students who experience trauma before writing the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination, can rewrite it.

Responding to reports about a 12-year-old student allegedly being molested prior to writing the SEA last week, Garcia explained there is a protocol to allow students to re-write the exam one month after the official SEA. This protocol has been in place since 2000.

The minister said schools will be provided with charging carts with the laptop computers, as part of the $50 million initiative being implemented by the ministry. The carts will also serve as a storage facility for the laptops when they are not in use. Garcia said the carts have a four lock mechanism which prevents the laptops from being removed, once they are secured. The laptops will be stored either in a computer lab or other secure room at the school, he said. Garcia added that the ministry is constantly upgrading security at the nation’s schools.

The minister also said payment of approximately $1.8 million owed to staff administering the ministry’s continuation classes programme is being assessed.