TTUTA says review of SEA a welcome process

To be or not to be abolished…that is likely to be one of the questions facing the committee tasked with reviewing the future of the SEA examination.

According to the Ministry of Education, a Cabinet appointed committee the Committee will review and recommend changes to the Conduct of SEA and the transition to Secondary School.

It is also expected to review and recommend changes to the terms of the Concordat, the document which details the relationship between the Government and denominational schools.

Under the current agreement, religious bodies maintained management control of denominational schools while the government paid teachers’ salaries and covered most of the cost for furniture, equipment and buildings.

Denominational Secondary schools also retained the right to select up to 20 percent of the capacity of the school’s Form 1 students regardless of their performance on the annual secondary school entrance exams.

According to the Ministry, the Committee’s establishment was initiated following the collation of the outcomes from the National Virtual Consultation on Education 2020.

The committee is expected to submit a report by the end of November 2020 with specific recommendations for the consideration of Cabinet.

The Committee will comprise various education stakeholders including Ministry officials, leading education academics, school principals, the THA, NPTA representatives, Inter-Religious Organization representatives and TTUTA representatives.

TTUTUA President, Antonia De Freitas told News Power Now that the review is a welcome process given the Union’s stance on the SEA examination particularly under the current circumstances.