Education Ministry in consultation following announcement of election date

The move by President Donald Ramotar to announce a date for General Elections has left the Ministry of Education scrambling to determine the way forward. This is in light of the fact, that the May 11, 2015 Election date set by the President is the same date the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) has set a number of crucial examinations. This publication learnt that Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, and several of her top level officers were locked in meetings yesterday as part of the efforts to chart the way forward. The Minister, in an invited comment to this publication yesterday morning, had said that her Ministry will issue a statement on the matter but from reports reaching this publication, the consultations had not concluded even by late yesterday afternoon. However, this publication was informed that any date adjustment might more than likely have to be made at the level of Government in terms of a new elections date; since the CXC examinations date is the same set for a number of countries and conducted simultaneously to maintain the integrity of the results. Moreover, it isn’t likely that the local Education Ministry can in any way adjust the date set for the CXC examinations. Based on the timetable issued by CXC, the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations set for May 11 are: (MORNING) AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE D/A 2 (General); AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE S/A 2 (General); THEATRE ARTS 1 (General); (AFTERNOON) ELECTRICAL and ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY 1 –Technical; FOOD and NUTRITION 2 (General). Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) set for the same date are: (MORNING) Geometrical and Mechanical Engineering Drawing Unit 1 Paper 2; History Unit 1 Paper 2; Art and Design Examinations to begin for Unit 1, Papers 2 and 3, and Unit 2, Papers 1 and 2; (AFTERNOON) Communication Studies Paper 2. This is quite a significant development as it is highly unlikely that the regional examination body will deviate in any way from its final timetable to facilitate Guyana and its polls, and in relation to the elections, a number of schools across the country are used as polling stations. It is clear that this may not have been taken into consideration by President Ramotar and his advisors when the decision was made. This publication was told that if the Ministry hadn’t issued a statement on the matter by the end of yesterday, one is likely to be forthcoming today.