KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information has announced new dates for the 2021 Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations.

Acting Chief Education Officer, Dr Kasan Troupe, says June 15 and 16 have been identified for grade five students, and June 29 and 30 for youngsters in grade four. 

Additionally, she said the Ability Test for grade six students, which was originally slated for February 23 and postponed to March 25, will now take place on May 26. 

There will, however, be no Performance Task or Curriculum-Based Tests for grade six students. 

Dr Troupe was speaking during the Ministry’s CSEC/CAPE digital town hall meeting on April 29.

Noting that the dates have been communicated to the relevant schools, Dr Troupe said the Ministry is being guided by developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

She said parents can rest assured that the Ministry will take the necessary actions in ensuring that children slated to sit the upcoming exams are able to do, despite challenges sparked by COVID-19.

“It has been a very difficult time for our boys and girls [and] we are conscious of the limitations that our parents face with respect to the technology. So, we continue to work with our principals and our parents to make sure that the other modalities are accessible,” she indicated. 

Among these, Dr Troupe reiterated, are televised programmes, noting that “our evening school network is accessible on 22 cable channels.”

“Parents, we are encouraging you [that] if you are limited by the technology, the alternative methods are also very good options to explore,” she emphasised.

Dr Troupe also advised that officers assigned to the Ministry’s regions islandwide are committed to working with principals and teachers in getting content to children who do not have access to the requisite technology. 

“We are encouraging parents to stay in touch and just capitalise on the opportunities. We know that the ideal situation is really to have the boys and girls in the face-to-face [classroom setting]. But there’s a national [health] crisis, and the decision [to operate remotely] was made to keep everybody safe [because] we really want all our boys and girls [among others] to be safe at this time,” she said.