Henry-Wilson

The Government is proposing to provide 16,990 school spaces by the end of the year with 3,500 of these to be created for Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) students in Region Six by September.

Maxine Henry-Wilson, Minister of Education, Youth and Culture made the announcement yesterday while tabling a ministry paper, containing the recommendations of a committee appointed to examine the delay in the publication of last year's GSAT results, in the House of Representatives.

Problems finding spaces

The ministry had claimed that one of the reasons for the delay in the publication of the GSAT results was because it was having problems in finding spaces for approximately 2,000 students in Region Six, which include the parishes of St. Catherine and Clarendon.

Mrs. Henry-Wilson yesterday assured Members of the House that there will not be a recurrence of last year's fiasco.

With respect to the timely publication of GSAT results, she said the ministry has worked on a detailed delivery schedule with all the parties involved, including the persons who are responsible for the processing of the data. She said a team led by the Permanent Secretary has been appointed to monitor the implementation.

"And to date, we are on schedule with all aspects of implementation. The training of school personnel in the computer technology necessary to access the results will be undertaken during the month of March," she said.

Pressed by Opposition Spokesman on Education, Andrew Holness, Mrs. Henry-Wilson admitted that no one was held accountable for thedelay in the publication of the GSAT results.