The Ministry of Education and Youth yesterday reported on the proper administration of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Aptitude Test for Year Six 2022.

Portfolio Minister Fayval Williams said 35,923 public and private school students took the test at 1,052 designated centres, noting that the exam “went well”.

“These are all students who will be going to our high schools in September this year and they would have had the greatest impact in terms of learning loss [due to COVID-19]. So I want to congratulate them for passing the Capability component of the exam,” the minister said during the ministry’s semi-virtual press conference today.

Noting that yesterday marked the fourth year of administering the PEP exam, Williams said that, as had been the case before, schools had made arrangements to accommodate students with special needs, for whom there are had 369 requests.

These, she pointed out, included giving more time for the test; assign readers or writers, prompters or shadows; give candidates a preferential place in the examination centre; schedule breaks during the exam; and providing interpreters for students whose first language is not English.

“We also had to arrange for four of our students to take the exam while in hospital…it’s obviously at their request. Thus, supervisors and officials of the Ministry of Education would have administered the aptitude test at the Bustamante Children’s Hospital and at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital,” the Minister informed.

She added that even in cases where two students arrived late due to extenuating circumstances related to violence in the community, “they were also accommodated.”

Williams said that in cases where a presiding examiner arrived late at an exam center or did not show up, “we had officers in the regions who were able to respond very quickly to resolve those situations.”

“We would therefore like to congratulate all of our students for their determination and resilience. We know these are difficult times, but nonetheless, our students persevered. Our parents, teachers and administrators and everyone involved in making the test run smoothly is also to be commended,” Williams said.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Message us on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at [email protected] or [email protected].