The Ministry of Education (MoE) last month in a circular to teachers, announced changes to the policies that guide subjects offered in grades 10 and 11 in secondary schools.
Among the changes are that students about to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations are not to be restricted from writing any subject they select as along as their SBA is of an acceptable standard.
The MoE has also established guidelines for the creation of streams and streaming of students into Grade 10. It stated that secondary schools must ensure that each stream offers Information Technology (IT) and/or Electronic Document Preparation and Management (EDPM), a foreign language, and a Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) subject.
According to the circular, students in ‘A’ list schools who are in Grade 11 can sit for any number of subjects at the CSEC examination. However, their School Based Assessment (SBA) must be of an acceptable standard as determined by the school.
“A school cannot prevent a student from writing a subject at the CSEC examinations except if his or her SBA has not met the national deadlines. That is, the practice by schools of ‘recommending’ students to write a subject must be discontinued,” it said.
Steps to be taken, in this regard, were not mentioned in relation to foreign language subjects, which do not require the submission of SBAs. As such, teachers of those subjects are unaware about what needs to be done with students whose Grade 10 marks and class attendance do not reflect a promise of passes in the subject.
In Grade 10, students at List ‘A’ and List ‘B’ schools may take subjects such as Mathematics, English ‘A’, English ‘B’, EDPM, HSB (Human and Social Biology), and/or a foreign language, and they have the option of not sitting for subjects they have already passed.
Subject withdrawals are also permitted in Grade 10, if the chosen subjects do not support career aspirations, workload management, or academic achievement. The circular cautioned that parents or guardians must request the withdrawal from a subject which must be approved by the school, but a student must not do less than five subjects.
The guidelines also make it possible for students to study subjects across different streams. Students must inform their school of any such ‘cross-streaming’ subjects before the completion of the Christmas term in Grade 10. However, students at ‘A’ List schools and sixth form institutions, have the flexibility to study any number of subjects across streams. If a student faces difficulty with a subject, the school may request that they withdraw from it.
The decision to amend the policy has been taken with the intention of providing students with an environment that enables them to develop their talents while achieving academic success. The updated policy is a reflection of MoE’s ongoing efforts to modernise the education system and address the diverse needs of students.
Secondary schools across Guyana are currently in the process of signing up students for sitting of the May/June exams next year, and meeting with parents in this regard for discussions and payments for subjects.
The MoE has urged schools to immediately implement these guidelines where possible. This circular amends circular no.1, dated April 26, 2017.
