The Ministry of Education is cognisant of the many challenges facing parents whose children have to attend schools that are far from where they live. Among the concerns are the availability and cost of transportation as well as the cost of lunch.
These factors sometimes limit children’s attendance to three days per week. Schools also have been concerned about how students’ learning is affected by absenteeism.
In order to alleviate these factors the Ministry of Education is committed to the manual placement in schools near their homes of GSAT students who are not assigned to any of the institutions of their choice. In addition, parents and guardians are reminded that where students have been assigned to schools far from their homes, the Ministry will facilitate requests for transfers.
The Ministry further advises that the majority of students who sat the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) this year will be placed in high schools of their choice based on their grade performance.
The Ministry continues to enhance the quality of those high schools that traditionally have not been institutions of choice, by way of improved infrastructure, expanded curriculum offerings, better trained principals and teachers as well as welfare to students.
The GSAT results are scheduled to be released the third week in June.