167 Tobago students score under 30 per cent in SEA

TOBAGO House of Assembly Chief Secretary and Secretary of Education, Innovation and Energy, Kelvin Charles, has confirmed that 167 Tobago students scored below 30 per cent in this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination. Of that number, 61 students, who were under 13, have a second chance to take the exam next year.

Charles made the disclosure in response to questions sent by Newsday via e-mail on Friday.

“Fifty-five girls scored 30 per cent and under; 112 boys scored 30 per cent and under. Sixty-one students will re-sit the exam in 2019; 106 students were assigned to a secondary school.”

He recalled that in 2017, 137 students scored under 30 per cent, of whom 55 re-sat the exam.

“In 2017, 82 students were assigned to a secondary school and 55 were scheduled to re-sit the exam this year. Forty-six of the 55 students saw an improvement in their SEA score in 2018. This brought us to a rate of 84 per cent of those students.”

Asked about the improvements seen in the grades this year as compared to last year, Charles said: “There hasn’t been any significant difference in the performance as it relates to the 30 per cent and under data for 2017 and 2018.”

In Tobago, 943 children sat the SEA – 477 boys and 466 girls.