The results are in

The dust has now settled. The tears have subsided, throats are sore from the shouts of joy, we have experienced both the highs and lows of another SEA results. We reset and wait for next year.

The United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out a child’s right to an education (Article 28) and further sets out a child’s right to equality and freedom from discrimination (Article 2).

In T&T our children enjoy free primary and secondary school education. During the course of the last decade or so, we have had more secondary schools being constructed and upgrade works to existing schools. No doubt we have made room for our growing school population.

In 2001 our country switched from the Common Entrance examination to the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) as our measuring tool for placement into the secondary school system. At that time the switch was seen as necessary to cure several flaws in the then Common Entrance examination, an examination which relied heavy on multiple choice questions and failed to properly access the child’s capability for critical thinking. The SEA format allowed the use of critical thinking and extended the need for creative writing. What the switch did not successfully do was create a well-balanced and age-appropriate testing mechanism.

Recently the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) released their 2026 report in Paris. According to the report our SEA structure according to a newspaper report “continues to determine children’s futures too early, sorting them by class and leaving poorer students to bear the greatest disadvantage.” I agree completely.

Let me stray a minute from law, and venture into parenthood. My elder son will enter Standard 5 in September. We are already in full preparation mode for SEA. Additional lessons for the term are at a cost of $2,400. My son’s schedule is more hectic than mine as a practicing attorney-at-law and mother of two. At the end of the week, my child is drained, tired and about ready to give up. I try to slow it down a bit, I try to lessen the load as much as I can, but the pressure is too much for his still developing mind and body. I am already exhausted and it is not even my examination.

The Rights of the Child directs that there be equality for our children. Our socio-economic backgrounds are such that not all children will have access to additional lessons and preparation classes. Sadly, in our primary school system there are distinctions between the better performing schools (which usually are the private or board assisted) versus the schools that are not performing as well. Not all parents will be able to adjust their work schedules to accommodate the growing demands of extra lessons. The truth is, not all our children will be able to afford to prepare themselves in the same manner.

Aside from the cost of preparation, what our examination structure fails to consider is that not all children sit examinations in the same manner. Not all children excel in the same subject areas, not all children are able to work with a strict timeline and not all children are capable to dealing with the stress of examinations in the same manner. We are expecting a maturity from our children,that even adults are not always able to display. The common entrance examination was implemented in 1961 and it is a sure sign of our failure that in all these years we have not considered a better approach than a one time hit or miss method of allocating schools.

There is little that can be done now. The results are in. The only assurance left to be given is that the allotted secondary school does not determine the future of the child. The child has the power within their hands to determine their own future. So let us now unduly or harshly criticise our children, but instead motivate them towards what lies ahead. Despite which secondary school we attend, the curriculum will remain the same, the CSEC examination will be the same, it is up to the child to now apply themselves in a different way. The benefit of secondary school is the ability to choose the subjects which fits career goals, to focus on the areas that are preferred or within your personal abilities. It is a time to embrace your strengths and work on your weaknesses.

Our country and the success of our citizens are remarkable. We have countless successful business people and professionals who can attest to not having passed for their first or even second choice but still progressing well in their chosen fields. Do not allow one examination to define your worth or your road to success. The journey continues.

Until we can introduce a new system, we continue to live with this one. But we celebrate with our children and give them the tools to rise above this one academic milestone.

Pavitra Ramharack is Head of Chambers at Pavitra Ramharack Attorneys at Law and can be reached at [email protected].