19,000 write SEA after 4-month delay

More than 19,000 children will finally write the long-anticipated Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination after waiting for four months.

The exam was originally scheduled for April 2 but faced a wall of uncertainty after schools were shut down in March as part of the measures to contain the spread of covid19. Students and teachers were told to stay at home to prepare but there was no immediate announcement of a new date.

After months of deliberations with various stakeholders, former minister of education Anthony Garcia told the nation the exam would be written on August 20 much to the relief of students and their parents.

During their time at home, students who spoke to Newsday all said they missed spending time with their friends.

They were allowed to return to their physical classrooms on July 20 to enable them to prepare. This time, however, they had to learn how to adjust to safety protocols put in place to prevent them from contracting covid19. These included hand washing and sanitising, wearing masks on entry to the school, having their temperature checked, and practising physical distancing.

This arrangement was short lived as students and teachers were sent back home three weeks later owing to the sudden spike in covid19 cases, some of which were traced back to 11 primary schools. The Ministry of Education, on Tuesday, said those schools have been sanitised and are safe for use once more. It said all health and safety measures have been put in place.

The increase in covid19 cases created another bout of worry as there were fears the exam may be postponed again.

“I'm anxious, just waiting for the other shoe to drop,” said one mother three days before the exam.

“I know it's not anyone's fault that this happened,” she added, “but another postponement will be the psychological death of the children whose parents make this exam the be-all and end-all of their children's entrance into secondary schools.”

She said her son is frustrated.

New Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, who was sworn in on Wednesday, is scheduled to visit three schools – two before the start of the exam, and one at the conclusion.