Online classes to continue until July 3, PEP placements June 26

The Education Ministry has announced that online classes/distance learning will be continuing until July 3.

In the meantime, Karl Samuda, the minister with responsibility for education says high school placements under the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) will be released on June 26.

Several PEP exams were interrupted because of the coronavirus and so Samuda says the ministry has arrived at a system that will be used to obtain placement scores for final year primary school students.

Speaking at Jamaica House on Monday, Samuda said their grade four literacy and numeracy test scores, their grade five performance task and their grade six abilities test results will be used.

"We recognise that it is not a perfect world anymore and we recognise that it is not as scientifically based as was the previous year and we are expecting to return to normalcy next year. But this year we cannot do anything that will compromise the progress for our children," the minister said.

Samuda said the plan had the full support of education stakeholder, adding that students will be assessed at the beginning of the new school year.  

"There will be a process of assessment and learning for the first 20 days after school reopens so that we can get a good feel for the level at which each child is because they have been denied – many of them – an opportunity to experience the classroom environment," Samuda said.

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