Garcia: SEA date will not change

Minister of Education Anthony Garcia said on Wednesday there is “absolutely no way" his ministry will change the August 20 date set for the SEA exam.

There had been objections to the new date from some teachers and parents.

Garcia made the announcement during a visit to the Aranguez North Secondary School.

He insisted, “I want to make it abundantly clear that August 20 is our date for our 19,000 students in the primary school sector.”

Garcia said he had heard on Tuesday night from the president of the Primary School Principals' Association, who assured him the teachers would come out to work in preparation for the exam

“I am banking on the goodwill of our teachers,” he said. “Our teachers have always shown goodwill where our students are concerned. I am very confident that our teachers and our students will come out.”

Asked how the ministry would deal with the results in the event students do not perform as well as in previous years, Chief Education Officer Lisa Henry David said the secondary entrance process will continue as normal.

“In most of our schools, when children enter secondary school, they do some sort of assessment to see what level they are at…and teachers will be able to meet the child wherever they are at.”

Garcia was visiting Aranguez North Secondary to ensure it was prepared for upcoming CSEC and CAPE examinations, under Health Ministry physical distancing regulations.

He said the ministry plans to visit two schools in each of the seven education districts, one secondary and one primary, to address any issues schools may have in preparing for upcoming CSEC, CAPE and SEA exams.