COMMON RELIEF!

A number of students last Friday gathered at centers throughout the island to sit what has, over the years, become a frightening occurrence, the Common Entrance Exam.
Although there has been talk of abolishing the exam, this has not yet borne fruit, so year after year our children are forced to undergo three agonizing tests that determine their future.{{more}}
The experiment embarked upon last year to admit more students to secondary schools has given renewed hope to many who ordinarily may have faced the prospect of being discarded at this tender age.
Many students we spoke to say they were quite comfortable with the exam, which gives the hope that the pass rate would increase this year over last year’s.
Last year, 2582 students wrote the exam with a total of 1132 (43.84%) gaining pass marks. Out of this, 485 males compared to 647 females passed the exams. The females also outdid the males in 2002. This hints somewhat on male underachievement.
Students sitting this year’s exams will hope to follow in the footsteps of Gabriel Kirby, Chryste Da Silva, Asto Stephens Jr. and Rachael Saunders who were first, second and third respectively. However all successful students will be provided with free secondary school education at a government run or government assisted school.
Those who fail will still have hope of catching up at a subsequent opportunity. We are slowly inching toward our goal of providing universal secondary education targeted for 2006. There is hope.