In the week after Carnival a great consultation on education with all stakeholders will be conducted by the Minister of Education to determine the way forward in education.
One topic for discussion is the Continuous Assessment Component (CAC). I wish to emphatically state that the complete removal of CAC, or the removal of any continuous assessment from SEA, is a retrograde step.I agree that CAC has been quite a burden upon teachers because of its forced implementation and evaluation process.
In addition, teachers are sometimes incompetent in specialised areas.To resolve that situation and reduce stress among principal, teachers and students, there should be an immediate removal of all Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) subjects from CAC. However, VAPA subjects can be taught in schools but should not be assessed as a component of SEA.
Another option that can be implemented is the use of the last three national tests (in the core subject areas) being 20 per cent towards SEA.
My reason is unambiguous. CAC benefits the child. The child can learn and improve his ability through continuous assessment and diligent monitoring by our competent and well-trained teachers. Teachers can deliver the curriculum if the environment is stress free and the human resource is available.
Reverting to the old SEA is supporting class bias. Summative assessment which in itself is a high stake examination is very frustrating to the majority of students and wearisome on parents.On the other hand formative assessment (CAC) is all-embracing and targets student's strengths and weaknesses. There is always room for improvement.
Oh, by the way Mr Minister, I humbly ask that you consider the immediate upgrade of the UTT Teacher Training graduates. These teachers were sent (by the Government) to UTT to be trained and now that they have graduated they are not being upgraded for reasons known to the Ministry of Education only.
Amral Hosein
Warrenville