MoE: No postponement of SEA 2021

The Ministry of Education confirms the 2021 Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) will remain on its scheduled date of June 10.

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BOBIE-LEE DIXON
[email protected]

The Ministry of Education confirms the 2021 Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) will remain on its scheduled date of June 10.

Despite the suggestion made last week by stakeholders at a meeting held with Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, to postpone the exam to a later date, to afford this year’s sitting students some physical school time to prepare for the exam, a release from the Ministry today affirmed it would be sticking with the June 10 date.

Explaining its reason why, the release stated, “given the current COVID situation, there was no telling when a practical postponement date could be made”.

“While the prevailing view is that students would benefit from a few weeks of face-to-face preparation before the examination—and consideration was given to postponement to possibly facilitate this—the fact is that there is no certainty of that becoming a reality, even if the examination were to be postponed,” the release noted.

It said the decision took a collaborative approach, which involved key stakeholders.

The release stated the MoE’s decision also was guided by last year’s post-assessment of physical school resumption.

“The Ministry is also mindful of the lessons learned from the conduct and administration of the SEA in 2020, where the best efforts to provide face-to-face preparation sessions for our students were aborted due to the continued spread of COVID-19,” the Ministry wrote.

It added: “In the midst of the pandemic and in very uncertain times, the Ministry of Education continues to collaborate closely with the Ministry of Health and other public sector agencies to ensure the safety and protection of our students, and to provide a safe and secure environment for the conduct of examinations.”

The release noted the results for the 2021 SEA exam would be released in mid-August to promote students to secondary schools in time for the September school term.