Chief Education Officer: Please send your children to sit exams!

There is often a relatively high absentee rate for students sitting the Common Entrance Examination.{{more}}

This disclosure was made by the Chief Education Officer Lou-Anne Gilchrist, while making remarks at the National Awards Ceremony, last Friday.

“Parents, please send your children to sit the exams, because we often find that there is a relatively high absentee rate there,” Gilchrist pleaded.

Additionally, Gilchrist asked parents not to hover over their children on the day of the multiple choice exams, causing them to suffer unnecessary anxiety.

“I hope that the parents that are listening are not Common Entrance day parents, because it makes no sense at that point to support your child and to hover anxiously at the school gate,” the chief education officer said.

“Their education is a life-long process. It begins in the womb. So, if you are not there at pre-kindergarten, if you’re not there during primary school, stay home on [Common Entrance Day, June 7]”.

Gilchrist highlighted that this year, 2,329 students have registered to write the common entrance exam, which is made up of a reading assessment, a composition and a multiple choice test in English, Mathematics and General Paper.

This number is an increase of 188 over the number of students registered last year.

Of this sum of registered students, 1,223 are males while 1,106 are females.

The chief education officer also mentioned that that the reading assessment, which began on April 17, will end on May 8. The composition paper will be written on May 31, while the multiple choice examination will take place on June 7. (BK)