Education Division: 38 Tobago students to resit SEA

THIRTY-EIGHT of the 999 who completed this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination in Tobago will resit.

School Supervisor II Phillip Roachford made the announcement during a media conference at the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Division of Education, Research and Technology conference room in Scarborough, on June 7.

“As happens at times, we have some students who were not placed for some reason or the other and we have 38 of those students who’ve been asked to resit the examination in 2026.”

Secretary Zorisha Hackett said this year, the number of remedial students scoring under 30 per cent was 134 which represents 13.4 per cent of students sitting the exam. Those remedial students, she said, had an average total score of 152.84. She said that finding would fuel the division’s contribution to the Tobago district assessment.

She said towards that end, the division would continue towards cycle four of the project impact programme started in 2022. She said ten centres would be utilised.

“A total of 400 students would be accepted under this programme and 80 students, two from each primary school across the island under the accelerated programme. The programme is carded to begin July 14 and close off on August 14, 2025.”

Hackett said a full schedule including contact information would be placed on the division’s website along with the division’s social media platform.

“I’m imploring that our Tobago public makes full use of this programme. It’s not only a focus on remedial students but the accelerated learner as well, and we’re moving towards policy shift through the Ministry of Education and the Division of Education to give our accelerated learners the opportunity to really face that exam if they’re really ready for that exam, and not have age as a factor of if they’re ready for that exam or not.”

Those conversations, she said were ongoing with Minister of Education Dr Michael Dowlath.

The division’s researcher Bobby Andrews said in 2024 there were 138 remedial students, compared to this year’s 134.

Andrews said remedial students had vastly lower scores than others, pointing to the need for literacy and numeracy which he said was highly correlated with the overall scores.