THE REGISTRAR General's Department (RGD) says it might be forced to implement temporary measures to deal with urgent demands expected to be placed on it by parents of 6,000 GSAT students.
These parents have been given a week to present their children's birth certificates to schools before they can get information about their children's placements.
Education Minister Burchell Whiteman said yesterday that, apart from not getting information about their children's placements, parents could face a penalty. He declined to state what those penalties could be.
In announcing yesterday that 48,979 out of 50,547 students have been placed in this year's GSAT (Grade Six Achievement Test), Mr. Whiteman said the presentation of the birth certificates was important for the students' records and to ensure order.
"This measure has been adopted to ensure that the integrity of the system is protected. We need to have that document in place," the Minister said yesterday at a press briefing at his Heroes Circle office in Kingston.
He said the list with the affected 6,000 students was available at the primary and preparatory schools from which the students were entered.
According to him, the Ministry has in the past tried, without public notice, to get parents to bring in their children's birth certificates but this effort had been ignored.
"Between January and now, there have been consistent efforts to get the information but, because last year people saw that despite the request there was no penalty or inconvenience, a number of persons have not complied," Mr. Whiteman said.
According to the Minister, had the Ministry insisted on getting the birth certificates before the candidates registered for their exams last November, a number of them would not have been able to sit the GSAT.
Meanwhile, responding to the announcement, Patricia Holness, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the RGD, told The Gleaner her department would be in a position to deal with the expected rush.
"If based on our analysis, we recognise this will be more than we can handle normally, we will make special arrangements and have special teams that will deal with these cases," she said.
"Rather than the parents coming to us (offices), we will probably go to the schools," she said.
Of the 50,547 students registered last year for the GSAT, 1,568 were absent. And of the 48,979 students who have been placed, 37,127 or 75.8 per cent have been placed in five-year high schools, 7,973 or 16.3 per cent have been be placed in Junior High Schools and 3,871 or 7.9 per cent have been placed in grade seven in all-age schools.
Mr. Whiteman said 94 scholarships had been awarded to GSAT students this year, 40 more than the number awarded last year. The Education Minister said the 40 extra scholarships were awarded to mark Jamaica's 40th anniversary of Independence. Of the 40 scholarships, 12 of them have been awarded nationally, while 28 of them have been awarded to two students from each of the 14 parishes.
He congratulated the successful GSAT students and urged them to maintain the highest standards in pursuit of excellence.
