EDUCATION Minister Priya Manickchand has made it clear that there will be no transferring of students from lower to higher schools, based on the results of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations, irrespective of their connections, stature or relationship with anyone. She made the declaration on Wednesday, at Diamond Secondary School, East Bank Demerara, after a consultation with teachers on corporal punishment and automatic promotion.
The Minister said that, following the announcement of the NGSA results last week, several concerned parents have been approaching the Ministry seeking transfers from the schools for which their children would have attained marks.
However, she said, while her ministry would like to make every child comfortable with the school at which they are placed, the reality is that it remains logistically impossible to do.
She said it is extremely hard and will not be done.
Explaining the reasons, Manickchand said there may be a case where one parent comes and requests that his or her child is placed in a particular school because they missed the mark for that school. She said, like that child, there may be 31 or 41 others who missed the mark for that very school.
“What happens there?” the Minister asked.
She said it will then mean developing one or two additional classrooms to accommodate those students and that requires space.
RESTRICTIONS
Manickchand mentioned, however, that, while there may be some transfers, those would be with restrictions.
She said, where a child is placed at school that has the exact entry mark as another school, a parent could get the transfer to that school, if he or she wishes to have his or her child in close proximity to where that parent works.
The Minister added that these transfers will also be looked at from the angle of the location of the two schools and where the child lives.
But, despite the possibility of transfers, these will only be done during the period July and August when students take up their spots in the respective schools and it is determined that the school has the capacity to accommodate more students.
The Minister said she has already been hit with the harsh reality of having friends and acquaintances upset with her, because she was unable to assist them in the placing of their children in schools they desired but for which they did not attain the marks.
Source: https://guyanachronicle.com/2012/07/06/ngsa-results-no-transfers-for-students-irrespective-of-connections-manickchand