St. George’s, March 23, 2010 (GIS) – Further details are being unveiled on proposed changes in the delivery of formal education throughout Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
For decades, students at primary school have had to pass the Common Entrance Examination (CEE) to gain a place at one of the nation’s secondary schools.
But Grenada, as a signatory to what is known as the “Universal Education Treaty,’’ is shelving the Common Entrance Examination in two years. In its place will be a “competency test,’’ said Education Minister Senator Franka Alexis-Bernardine.
She explained that the new “competency test’’ will meet “a broader range of skills and capabilities other than academics.’’
“What it really does,’’ the Education Minister added, “is give everyone a chance to get into secondary school, which is part of the universal education commitment that we signed on to some time back. It’s about giving opportunity to all. Everyone must find a niche and we must develop systems that facilitate the development of our children. That’s what it’s all about.’’
Sen. Bernardine, who is also Minister of Human Resource Development, admitted that changing the CEE to a new system would require a lot of planning. However, she said it is “nothing that is outside the capability of the tam within the Ministry of Education; a very capable team of persons.’’
Under the new “competency test’’ system, students will be continuously assessed at each grade, said Chief Education Officer Pauline Findlay.
“The continuous assessment makes use of a number of different types of assessment tools,’’ she said. “So you have observation of students; you have pencil and paper tests. You also have situations where students will do little projects, where they will do things like reporting and orally explaining what they have learnt and what they understand.’’
Sen. Bernardine also revealed that Grenada was participating in the first phase of an exercise that will allow students, including men and women who are out of school, an opportunity for obtaining a regionally recognised secondary school certificate.
“The strength of this is that it requires compulsory Math and English and three other subject areas,’’ said Sen. Bernardine, a former college educator. “This is our first year and it’s being tested in a few schools. We’re looking to see whether to institute it across the board.’’
Other plans of the Ministry of Education include tightening security at schools. Some students have been found carrying weapons to school.
“Parents are saying that it is an out-of-control situation. It’s happening too often,’’ the Education Minister said. “There is a small pocket of disruptive children who create a tremendous issue.’’
Another initiative for controlling unruly children is the proposed establishment of “Timeout Academies.’’
It’s an alternative to school suspension, where students will receive both tutoring and professional counselling.
“It offers an alternative place so that other children who are remaining focused on their work are not disrupted,’’ Minister Bernardine said. “They will continue to be taught while taken through a process of counselling to ensure their behaviour reaches a level that confirms to the norms of the classroom. You behave normally, you get back to school. You can’t behave, you have to be in Timeout Academy.’’