ONLY two Fridays ago, the Minister of Education Priya Manickchand alluded to the possible elimination of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), the primary school exit examination that is used to determine what secondary schools children are placed into. As expected, there has been much debate on the topic and I, for one, agree that our current system needs examining.

The concerns that underpinned the minister’s remarks was that it is not necessarily child-friendly to have 10-year-old children sit and write a two-day assessment in four subject areas and then have the results of that assessment determine their future. Instead, she proffered that all secondary schools should benefit from the same resources, so that it does not matter what school a child attends.

The minister was not making irrational remarks. Many, if not all of us, are aware that the current ranking and placement systems allow for the ‘top students’ to be placed in the ‘top schools,’ which have the better facilities, teachers, and avenues for support.

I attended Queen’s College, the country’s top secondary school, for seven years. As someone who had humble beginnings and came from an ‘ordinary’ government school, it was always my intention to attend this school because my parents believed that the opportunities provided to me at this school would be much greater. And, they were correct.

It is not necessarily because Queen’s College received more attention and funds from the government (I do not know if it did/does) but many of those opportunities provided to my colleagues and I were made possible through alumni support and connections. Some of our facilities, for example, were upgraded through this support and these connections.

Moreover, during my time at the college and even now, in my post-secondary school and professional life, the sheer mention that I was a Queen’s College student commanded a certain level of respect and credibility. I am not blissfully unaware that these are benefits that my colleagues in the lower-ranked secondary schools would not have necessarily benefitted from.

During my time at the college, I was also acutely aware of the difference in the quality of education I was receiving from my colleagues attending the Richard Ishmael Secondary. And I mention this secondary school intentionally because though it is located five minutes away from Queen’s College, the resource disparities are wide and painfully apparent.

At the beginning of my secondary school life, my colleagues and I in the college had to relocate to the Richard Ishmael school for a short while because a flea infestation at the college made it unsafe for our occupation. Attending that school was a masterclass in appreciating the quality of facilities and resources we had access to at Queen’s College.

Just because Queen’s College students are the crème de la crème, as we have been labelled since time immemorial, does not mean that all other students, regardless of their academic competency at the NGSA, should not have nice things too.

I am not trying to deny anyone the opportunity of reaping the benefits that can be garnered from attending Queen’s College. Certainly not. I will be forever grateful for my time and experience at the college. My point is, however, that students across the length and breadth of this country should have access to the same set of “nice things” as those in the top schools. It is only fair.

Contesting the suggestion that the placement examination should be abolished, sometime in the future, is the argument of keeping the ranking or placement system while all schools are upgraded to have the same resources, including highly skilled and committed teachers. In this system, the students with the same academic competencies would still be grouped together and it is assumed that, specifically in the top schools, there would be a thriving spirit of competition that encourages students to push themselves and do even better.

Some people agree with this suggestion and some do not. As a product of Queen’s College, with my 16 passes at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, I do agree that being grouped with “smart” students did encourage me to work harder because I wanted to see my name as one of the top students on the ‘Speech Night’ list of awardees every year. I also wanted to score a scholarship, as many of my fellow ‘plenty subjects’ colleagues did. And so, to this end, I understand the benefit of being in a top school and being motivated by the people around you.

The point is that this is not the case, currently. What happens now is that excelling at the NGSA increases your chances of being in a secondary school with a higher quality of resources and facilities. And again, that is just not fair.

I look forward to this conversation continuing, extensive consultations had and an evidence-based approach at promoting equity in the education system employed. I am convinced that it is possible.

If you would like to discuss this column or any of my previous writings, please feel free to contact me via email: vish14ragobeer@gmail.com