The Form 4s will be promoted to Form 5 in September and will be required to sit CSEC examinations in May/June, 2021. This is a total injustice to this group of students.
Firstly, they missed a whole term of work in Form 4. That term was very critical for the start and continuation of sbas for most subject areas. In addition, a number of units/sections in the syllabus would have been completed in that term.
Although many teachers tried to keep these students engaged during the lockdown, a great number of students were at a disadvantage due to lack of technical resources at home. Therefore, the work covered must be redone with all students when they return to school to ensure no child is left behind.
As a result of this, the portion of the syllabus planned for the Form 5 year will now be pushed back. Also, taking into consideration, the Ministry’s of Health guidelines re: opening of schools, these Form 5 students will be taught on a rotational basis. The rotation will involves half of the class or a third of the class at a time, depending on the class size. Therefore, in fifteen weeks, only seven and a half or five weeks of work can be completed. These students cannot be prepared for CSEC examinations in May/June 2021.
I am strongly recommending that those examinations test 50 per cent of the syllabus or even less. It is only fair to this group of students who have been adversely affected by the covid.
In addition, should school re-open in September, only this year group should be brought out for the term. In this way, the majority of the staff can be timetabled to focus on these examination classes.
This arrangement will also allow for proper physical distancing and no rotation. Form 1 classes could begin in January 2021 whilst the Form 2, 3, and 4 classes can be sent work virtually.
Lastly, the sba component of subjects can be replaced by a Paper 3.
Port-of-Spain