Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter
PRIME MINISTER Portia Simpson Miller yesterday ordered a probe into the delayed publication of the results of this year's GSAT exams, saying that it was important to maintain the integrity of the test.
Jamaica House, the Prime Minister's office, named Carlton Samuels, chief information officer of Mona Information Technology Services, at the University of the West Indies, to lead the investigation. The office also said Education Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson would announce the other members of Samuel's team in a parliamentary statement today.
The Office of the Prime Minister said, too, that Mrs. Simpson Miller, who is in St. Kitts attending a summit of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders, joined Mrs. Henry-Wilson in apologising for the delay in publishing the results and the "anxiety" this caused to parents and students.
UNCLEAR REASONS
The Ministry of Education had promised to release the results on Thursday, but after days of indecision and unclear reasons for the delay, the information was sent to many schools on Sunday. The test determines the move by children from primary to high schools.
Among the causes cited by the ministry's officers was the fact that up to 2,000 more students than previously wrote the test this year, resulting in difficulty finding school spaces, despite a recent major school-building project.
There were other suggestions that matters were complicated by high test scores, perhaps creating a problem in placing students with similar scores at their preferred high schools.
When the former Common Entrance Exam was abandoned in 1999, after decades of complaints about the élitism it fostered, it was precisely to get rid of this problem. But critics insist that much of the change has been in form rather than substance, maintaining the differential between the traditional and newer high schools and the fight for places in the perceived elite or better institutions.
In this context hints of cheating are taken seriously.
"... It is important that the public be made fully aware of the factors responsible for the delay in order to maintain the integrity of the examination process and the system of placement," Jamaica House quoted Mrs. Simpson Miller as saying.
Mrs. Henry-Wilson had said in a radio interview yesterday that internal reports had suggested the delay was caused by an underestimation of the time it would require by the outside contractors, who analysed the test information, to capture additional data about performances. This information is being presented to schools and being reviewed by education officials so as to better benchmark performance.
However, Jamaica House stressed the need for an "independent investigation".
Yesterday, schools in Kingston surveyed by The Gleaner reported that they had received the results.
"I got the hard copy Saturday morning," said Michael Brown, principal of Jessie Ripoll Primary School.
Mr. Brown said his school got the results on CD Friday but was unable to access the information - a problem not uncommon at many schools in the absence of appropriate computer equipment.
Mr. Brown that 70 per cent of his 130 students were placed in traditional high schools. "Some are relieved but some are disappointed," he said.
