Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS) Rodolphe Samuel kept his promise in Parliament to follow up as soon as possible on the issue regarding an earlier date for the Foundation Based Education (FBE) exit exams (see Friday/Saturday edition). These were planned in the second week of April during this 2023/2024 academic year, instead of the usual mid-to-late May.
He said a proposed adjustment is now on the table, but did not divulge its content. Neither was any sound motive given for the new scheduling that sparked such widespread concern.
Related talks with his ministry’s stakeholders including the school boards and Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) are ongoing. The question remains why they weren’t duly consulted in the first place.
As many schools, teaching staff, parents and pupils already voiced reservations about the sudden change, this is obviously widely not considered a good idea, at least not without proper discussion beforehand. It therefore stands to reason that this unpopular decision may be reversed.
Taking into account the King’s Day, Carnival and Labour Day holidays, few realistic alternatives other than going back to the weeks before that period exist and nobody involved should have to feel bad about that. To err is human, but acknowledging and correcting mistakes where possible can make all the difference.
