Abolish GSAT
Published:Wednesday | June 23, 2010 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
IT IS time for the Jamaican state to abolish the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) as the main conduit through which students from primary schools are 'transferred' to secondary institutions. As a society and a country, we must now wake up to the harsh reality that this microcosm within the education system has made tremendousgains in reinforcing two distinct Jamaicas.
The recent outcry of parents and guardians of some students who were not placed in the schools of their choice, even after scoring quite high on the 'test', only serves to highlight the potentially destabilising nature of this obsolete placement system. I think it incredible that one test should impact so greatly, if not determine the future of thousands of our children.
Unduly burdensome
The pressure that the examina-tions place on the parents is unduly burdensome, but it pales in comparison to the duress which it (and parental pressure) places on the shoulders of our 10-12-year-olds. It should, therefore, not be surprising that some children who were excellent students leading up to the exams perform below their true potential and end up in missing out on a place in the 'name brand high schools'.
The GSAT has served to ensure that an unspoken antipathy exists between students who attend traditional high schools and those who attend non-traditional high schools. It also, unfortunately, fosters a false sense of belief that 'the colour of my uniform' makes me better than you.
Other ways of placement
We all know that there is no quick fix to our educational woes and, until then, we can only try to remedy systems such as the GSAT. However, other countries around the world operate their systems of education without a GSAT. If they can do it, then we can do it too. There are other ways to place students.
We can always consider geographic proximity to schools, monitoring of student perfor-mances as early as grade two to ensure that all students are fairly judged, etc. These methods will allow for equity in terms of placing students in most, if not all, schools. We must systematically eradicate the GSAT or else nothing will change.
I am, etc.,
NOEL FORBES MATHERSON