Students in central Trinidad happy with SEA results

On Thursday, students in central Trinidad were happy as they got their results from the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam.

When Newsday visited Montrose Government Primary School on Thursday, the school had both a walk-in and drive-through option for students to collect results.

Cristiano Jadgeo, 11, was one of the students who used the drive-through option to get their results.

Newsday spoke to Jagdeo’s mom, Naomi Arjoonsingh, who had just finished crying after learning he passed for his first choice, Presentation College, Chaguanas.

A proud Arjoonsingh told Newsday, “I’m ecstatic and so grateful, I want to thank God, teachers and everybody who supported us.”

Regardless of their children’s results, Arjoonsingh is calling on parents to be supportive of them.

Jadgeo, who placed in the 99th percentile, told Newsday, “I feel really happy…I put in a lot of hard work.

“I’m looking forward to learning more, making new friends and meeting new people.”

When Kaydon Abraham, 11, got up on Thursday morning, he felt anxious about what his results might be.

But all nerves went out the window when Abraham learned he had passed for his first-choice school, Presentation College, San Fernando.

Abraham told Newsday, “I knew I would have got my first choice, but my mummy made me feel kind of anxious today.

“I’m looking forward to my new teachers and making new friends. I hope that schools reopen soon.”

Adeem Alim, 12, was among the first students to get their results at Montrose Government Primary School.

Newsday spoke to Ali shortly after he found out he had passed for Couva East.

He told Newsday he felt great about the results.

While Ali isn’t sure about what he’s looking forward to at the new school, he hopes he can return to school physically someday.

For Ali’s mum, Shudalia Khan, doing online school with him was challenging. But she told Newsday the school’s dedicated teachers made the process easier.

Though authorities hope that a substantial number of children 12-18 are vaccinated, to increase the possibility of schools reopening physically, Khan isn’t rushing to vaccinate her son anytime soon.

She said, “I don’t believe in the vaccine at this point in time.”

Mila Moonasar, 12, passed for Naparima Girls' High School, her first choice. Even though she doubted her abilities a bit, Moonasar was pleased her results.

She is now hoping that schools reopen physically.

Moonasar isn’t vaccinated as yet, but her mother Nadine Moonasar told Newsday she will soon be.

“She will be vaccinated soon, because she had a previous vaccine and we had to wait for a while. But my older son is already vaccinated.”

The school’s principal was unable to make any official comments. But she told Newsday the school’s 2021 SEA performance was one of its best compared to other years.

Despite the challenges of online learning, the principal said the school’s performance is a testament that online learning works.

At Lendore Hindu Primary School, Chaguanas, Newsday spoke with 11-year-old Megan Rajkumar.

Rajkumar passed for Saraswati Girls' Hindu College and was the school’s top student.

She told Newsday, “I feel very happy and I am looking forward to learning maths, which is my favourite subject.”

Rajkumar’s mother, Tricia Cape, admitted that while she’s pleased with her daughter’s results, she was also scared.

“At the beginning of the day I was a bit frightened, as all parents. You always have to leave room for disappointment.

"But I’m so happy that she did well. She had an anxiety attack (on the day of the exam) and she still did well.”