Number of students that missed SEA still being tallied

The SEA exam is over for most standard five students, but not all. A few students were reported absent from the exam due to covid19-related issues.

On Thursday, Minister of Education Nyan Gadsby-Dolly confirmed a student in Tobago who could not attend because the child’s family was quarantined after being confirmed positive for the virus. She was unable to confirm at the time if there were any other similar cases.

Gadsby-Dolly was speaking on a tour of the Gandhi Memorial Vedic Primary School in Aranguez after the SEA exam.

Contacted on Friday, the Anglican School Board could not yet confirm how many of its students missed the exam and The Catholic School Board said they were still in the process of gathering the information but were, so far, aware of at least four cases that were all covid19 related.

Newsday also received a report of a student in a Maraval family who was self-quarantined and unable to sit the exam.

Before the exam, the ministry announced that a make-up exam would be scheduled for students unavailable for Thursday's sitting.

A ministry official confirmed that it was standard procedure for a make-up exam to be set two weeks after SEA for students who were unable to take part for any reason.

“This happens every year.”

Asked if special arrangements would be made for students with covid19 where two weeks is not enough time to complete quarantine or recovery, the official said the examination council usually works out an arrangement for students to retake the test in special cases.

“The child is never denied the opportunity, for whatever reason.”