The Ministry of Education says 3,300 students will take the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) next Tuesday and COVID-19 protocols will be in full effect for both students and their parents.
The 1,545 males and 1,755 females who will sit the exam at the island’s 21 public schools will be required to wear masks, sanitise, and be seated three feet apart, while parents and guardians will not be allowed to remain on the compounds.
Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, noting the importance of protecting students in the COVID-19 environment, said the protocols governing the exams, as well as those pertaining to how parents/guardians conduct themselves in the vicinity of the centres would be enforced.
“There will be sanitising stations in the classroom and/or bottles of alcohol for students to cleanse their hands on entering the compound. But I want to make it clear that all COVID-19 protocols will be followed. We will also have [school] monitors from the public primary schools at the examination centres,” she said.
Archer-Bradshaw added that children should bring along more than one mask.
“…Just in case the one that they are wearing falls off or is defective, they can have another face mask that they can put on during the examination,” she said.
The examination begins at 9 a.m. with the essay, then the English paper. This will be followed by a short break, after which there will be the Mathematics paper. The entire process is expected to be completed by 1:15 p.m.
With respect to protocols governing the behaviour and attitudes of parents/guardians, the education chief said the adults should “drop their children off at the gate of the school by 8:30 a.m. for the start of the examination at 9:00 a.m., and return at 1:15 p.m”.
She also urged parents/guardians not to put undue stress on their children but to encourage them to “give of their best”.
“I would encourage parents to get up early that morning and encourage the children also to do likewise. Allow the children to have a good breakfast, not too heavy, and get to the centre by 8:30 a.m.,” Archer-Bradshaw advised.
“In terms of the snack, it is only a 30-minute break. So, we expect the parents to have prepared a sandwich and maybe a juice or some water. We don’t expect parents to give children an extremely heavy lunch during that 30-minute period.”
She advised that after the exam, parents/guardians should put their children at ease, “congratulate them on a job well done and allow the child to relax”.
“The examination is only one day. I would say that with the parents’ support that the child will do well despite the school that he/she attends. I would also encourage parents to reassure their children. Let them know that they are there for them at all times; take care of their mental well-being as well as their physical well-being. I encourage parents to spend time with the children, understand them, value them, and guide them so that they [can] grow up to be citizens of whom we can be proud,” the Chief Education Officer said.
Meantime, she said measures will be put in place to ensure that a child who is unable to take the exam for reasons related to illness, an accident, or a family emergency is given the opportunity to complete an alternative examination paper.
“We do know that these eventualities occur. As a result, we have an alternate date for the writing of an alternative examination; that date will be announced in due course,” Archer-Bradshaw said. (BGIS/BT)
