19,000 to write SEA exam on August 20

Over 19,000 primary school students and their parents can now breathe a sigh of relief as a date for the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination has been announced.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia says the exam will be written on August 20.

He made the announcement during a covid19 briefing hosted by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.

Garcia said the date was confirmed after consultations with various stakeholders. The original date for the exam was April 2, but this was disrupted when schools were ordered closed to curb the spread of covid19.

Garcia also announced that all SEA students and their teachers would be required to return to school on July 20 to allow for a more thorough learning experience to prepare the students.

Last Friday, the TT Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA), in a media release, said it encouraged the Ministry of Education to schedule the exam for October.

TTUTA said if the exam was set for the July-August period, it could qualify as a violation of teachers' terms and conditions.

Garcia said he considered this and decided that stipends would be paid to SEA teachers, in addition to their salaries, as an incentive to work during their vacation.

"The stipend will be paid according to their attendance on a daily basis and of course the hours we ask them to attend to the students which will be normal school hours from 8.30am to 3pm.”

Daily stipends for SEA teachers will be paid as follows:

* Assistant teachers ­– $400 per day
* Teacher 1 – $500 per day
* Head of department that teaches – $550
* Senior teacher – $600 per day
* Vice principal (who teaches SEA students) – $650 per day
* Principal – $900 per day

The minister said the August date was chosen to allow sufficient time for the students to prepare.

He said earlier suggestions of an October date would not have allowed for a smooth flow into the new school term.

While he could not give a definite date for the release of exam results, he gave a tentative date of October 8.

Garcia said if this schedule was kept, students would begin classes at their various secondary schools by October 19 – a system, he said, would allow for the intake of first-year students into primary schools.

He also responded to concerns over the effectiveness of virtual teaching platforms saying he was confident that televised lessons were enough to give students the basic skills needed to approach the curriculum.

He said data from research by school supervisors and feedback from parents was generally favourable towards online platforms.

"Everyday TTT carried lesson programmes. It started with these programmes being carried on television twice a day for two hours and it was expanded to four hours. So any child who had access to a television, that child had the opportunity of interfacing with the television and getting information with respect to what was being taught."

Garcia said he was also aware of the psychological effects such an exam could have on children and announced that various support services would be available to teachers and students when classes resume on July 20.

Citing various phone calls he has received from anxious parents over the date of the exam, Garcia said while he understood their concerns, he begged them to "take it lightly" and avoid projecting their stress onto their children.

He encouraged officers of the Student Support Services, curriculum officers and school superintendents to make frequent visits to schools to treat with concerns or problems as quickly as possible.

Garcia also said public health recommendations will remain in place even within schools. This means students may have to write the exam while wearing masks, but a decision

will be made after further consultation with the Ministry of Health.

Newsday spoke with president of the National Primary Schools Principals Association, Lance Mottley, who said while the association had no choice but to meet the ministry’s date, he questioned whether adequate funding for supplies and maintenance would be given to government schools as some have struggled with shortages of office supplies before the outbreak of the pandemic in TT.

"Government schools have not received funding for day-to-day operations which include office supplies and maintenance for the entire academic year of 2019 to 2020.

"Notwithstanding the part that schools will be operating in a limited capacity during the July-August vacation, we need to ask the question about funding.” Mottley said his association was not approached by Garcia during the consultation period.

Newsday attempted to contact Garcia via WhatsApp and phone calls for a response but was unsuccessful.