APPROXIMATELY 43,000 students have been registered to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) this Thursday and Friday, while 6,000 children have been deemed ineligible to sit the crucial exam because they have not reached the required literacy levels.
It is the first time that students will be barred from advancing to five-year high schools in Jamaica because they are unable to read and write properly. The 6,000 children, according to the education ministry, have not mastered the Grade Four Literacy Test, some after as many as four attempts.
They will in September be placed in the Alternative Secondary Transition Education Programme (ASTEP) -- a new programme focusing on the development of basic literacy and numeracy skills for up to two years before they are transitioned to high school.
ASTEP will also expose students to areas such as self-esteem development, confidence and positive thinking about self, family and community, the ministry said.
Minister of Education Andrew Holness yesterday sought to dismiss the view of any stigma being attached to ASTEP, saying it was a positive development, which has been welcomed by the parents of the children involved.
"The ministry is accommodating of all learning paces and styles. Everyone learns differently. I want to say to parents (of children in ASTEP), there is nothing wrong with your child," Holness said at a press conference on the ministry's readiness for the GSAT.
ASTEP will be housed in underpopulated and underutilised all-age and primary and junior high schools, said the minister.
Admitting that the pressure of doing well in the GSAT can prove unbearable for some, Holness urged parents to help in having their children relaxed for the big test. "I believe that with two days to go before the exam do not be afraid to give your child a hug," Holness said yesterday.
The ministry's permanent secretary Audrey Sewell said the 1,100 schools prepared as GSAT centres will be closed for the two-day exam to other students. Also,1,100 examiners and more than 2,000 invigilators are in place to administer the GSAT.
Chief Education Officer Grace McLean said specially trained personnel are in place at select centres to assist candidates with special needs.
Meanwhile, the minister said no child will be prevented from sitting the GSAT if for various reasons they did not receive their timetable in time or their registration is incomplete. "We take the view that the child ought not to suffer because of the errors of the ministry or parents," Holness said.
Students not receiving timetables include those transferring from overseas, those who are home schooled or those who were absent from the grade four tests.
