Opposition Leader Andrew Holness
The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party has expressed support for the Government's decision to phase out the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) and introduce a new primary school exit exam in 2017.
The JLP, in a press release on Friday, asserted that the decision announced on Wednesday by Education Minister Ronald Thwaites was continuing "the good policy of the JLP" to make adjustments to the current GSAT exam and implement the new exit exam in 2017.
"These initiatives were started by the JLP in 2009 in keeping with the party vision that all children should be engaged in compulsory educational pursuits until age 18," the release said.
It added that the new exam, "as envisioned by the JLP, would include a continuous assessment component, a section that requires knowledge of some key children's literature which would come from the reading of specific books, as well as a heritage/cultural experience," while the exam itself would place a strong emphasis on citizenship.
Opposition Leader Andrew Holness (a former Minister of Education and now the Spokesman on Education & Human Resources), stressed that the JLP "encourages the Minister to continue dialogue and consultation with all stakeholders so that the process of change will be seamless and that the objectives of properly preparing our students for secondary education will be realized."
He added that the long term change is geared at "facilitating the development of critical thinking and higher order skills... in order to enable our students to compete effectively in the global market place. This will indeed ensure the development of a robust knowledge society which has to be the future that we all embrace."
The JLP, in a press release on Friday, asserted that the decision announced on Wednesday by Education Minister Ronald Thwaites was continuing "the good policy of the JLP" to make adjustments to the current GSAT exam and implement the new exit exam in 2017.
"These initiatives were started by the JLP in 2009 in keeping with the party vision that all children should be engaged in compulsory educational pursuits until age 18," the release said.
It added that the new exam, "as envisioned by the JLP, would include a continuous assessment component, a section that requires knowledge of some key children's literature which would come from the reading of specific books, as well as a heritage/cultural experience," while the exam itself would place a strong emphasis on citizenship.
Opposition Leader Andrew Holness (a former Minister of Education and now the Spokesman on Education & Human Resources), stressed that the JLP "encourages the Minister to continue dialogue and consultation with all stakeholders so that the process of change will be seamless and that the objectives of properly preparing our students for secondary education will be realized."
He added that the long term change is geared at "facilitating the development of critical thinking and higher order skills... in order to enable our students to compete effectively in the global market place. This will indeed ensure the development of a robust knowledge society which has to be the future that we all embrace."
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