‘Multi’ students to write exams in school’s auditorium, EDPM at GTI
- Education Minister says needs of students will be met
By Vishani Ragobeer
Grade Eleven (fifth form) students attending the North Ruimveldt Multilateral school, in Georgetown which was recently affected by a fire, will be able to sit their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations in the school’s auditorium.
This is according to Minister of Education, Priya Manaickchand, who on Friday addressed the 65 students who will be sitting the 2021 CSEC examinations scheduled to commence on Monday.
On Saturday last, a fire gutted the main section of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral school; the ‘SMART’ Information Technology classroom, home economics room, and library were all destroyed.
Since then, a number of stakeholders and personnel from the education ministry engaged each other with the aim of ascertaining the best solution that would enable the students to comfortably sit their examinations.
Following an engagement with the students and their parents at the school on Monday, the education minister was cognisant that the students preferred to sit these examinations in the section of the school that was unharmed by the fire, instead of moving to another facility.
On Friday, she explained that much work went into renovating and preparing the school’s auditorium for this purpose. She, however, highlighted that the decision to permit the students to sit their examinations there was contingent upon whether the renovation would be completed in time and whether there was any smoldering wood, resulting in the smell of smoke.
While there on Friday, there was no smoky smell and there was a stable supply of electricity in the school’s auditorium.
“… We tried to serve you in a way you told us would be best for you,” the minister emphasised.
The minister also said that lunch will be provided to the students on the days they have to write their examinations and that transportation will be provided to take them to another institution where some of them will be able to sit their Electronic Document Preparation and Management (EDPM) subject.
The headteacher of the school, Allison Cosbert, told the News Room that the students will sit their EDPM examination at the Government Technical Institute (GTI), which is located on Woodford Avenue, Georgetown.
“Our computer room has been burnt and we don’t have the facility here to accommodate that so GTI would’ve offered us this and they can accommodate the 34 students that are writing the exams on Monday,” she related.
Commenting on the facilitation of the students in the school’s auditorium, she said, “… I am happy for the children because they can write their exams in what they call home. That makes a whole lot of difference in terms of their focus.”
On Friday, the headteacher said she has not yet received any reports of what caused the fire but noted that she hopes the school’s building that was damaged by the fire would be rebuilt at the earliest opportunity.
Meanwhile, one of the students, Kevia Canterbury, affirmed that being able to write her examinations at her school will give her some peace of mind despite her anxiety at part of her school being burnt.
“Being here in this auditorium and writing my examination, is giving me the adrenaline to perform exceptionally well,” she told the News Room.
