Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter
The investigating team conducting the probe into the delayed publication of the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) began working last week.
The group, headed by Carlton Samuels, is operating out of the offices of the National Council on Education, in New Kingston.
Mr. Samuels said based on the terms of reference given by the Minister of Education, Maxine Henry-Wilson, the probe would first involve a process review, so the members of the team could fully understand the steps involved in the administering of GSAT and the handling of the results.
The terms of reference are to :
Examine the entire examination process.
Determine the extent to which the process ensured security of data.
Determine any concern that could arise from the leakage of information.
Determine the reason for the publication at the end of June instead of the middle of the month, as occurred in the last three years.
Maintain integrity
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller ordered a probe into the delayed publication of GSAT results earlier this month, saying that it was important to maintain the integrity of the test.
The Ministry of Education had promised to release the results on June 29. But after days of indecision and unclear reasons for the delay, the information was sent to many schools on the weekend of that same week. The test determines the move by children from primary to high schools.
Among the reasons for the delay cited by the ministry's officers were the fact that up to 2,000 more students thanpreviously wrote the test this year, resulting in difficulty finding school spaces, despite a recent major school-building project.
The other members of the team are Radley Reid, former principal of Campion College, and Milton Samuda, attorney-at-law and
parent representative.
