In light of the devastating impact of TC Yasa, the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts advises parents and students that Yrs. 12 and 13 students will have the option to sit the remaining papers for the National Examination that were initially scheduled for the afternoon session of the 16th and both the sessions on the 17th of December.
Examinations will now be held on Tuesday the 22nd and Wednesday the 23rd of December. All students sitting these exams will be required to appear for the exams at their designated schools. The new timetable will be published on the Ministry’s website and Facebook page tomorrow.
Those students who do not sit these exams will be awarded marks based on their performance throughout the year, in line with the Ministry’s External Examinations and Assessment Policy.
For clarity, students who sat for the examination prior to TC Yasa will be assessed on those examination papers.
The Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Hon. Rosy Akbar is currently in Vanua Levu, inspecting the damage and says “Several schools, particularly in the Northern Division and the Maritime areas have suffered extensive damage from this super-cyclone, leaving those students at an overwhelming disadvantage compared to the rest of the country. In light of this we want to give students the option as many have been studying extremely hard and would like to sit the exams , while not disadvantaging those who have been traumatized by this catastrophe”.
The Ministry will also provide counseling support to students severely impacted by TC Yasa.
All enquiries regarding the examination should be directed Mr. Yogesh Krishna, Principal Education Officer at the Examination Unit on mobile number 8913149 or Head, National Education Service Delivery, Mr. Timoci Bure on mobile number 8909614.
The Ministry also advises parents and guardians to closely monitor their children’s movements and urges children to avoid playing in flooded waters.
With disruptions in transportation, particularly from Vanua Levu and the Maritime Islands, delays are anticipated in the arrival of exam papers which students have already sat. Therefore we are expecting some delays in the release of results for the National Examinations this year. Our markers have completed the first batch of marking and are currently marking the second batch. They are on standby to receive and mark papers as they arrive.
As expected, several of our schools have been damaged, particularly in the North and Maritime Islands. We are receiving reports on the extent of damage and will be working on providing the best support, within the resources available to us, to ensure that schools can be ready as soon as realistically possible.
We ask everyone for their patience and support at this very difficult time. We also urge the public to not pay attention to the false information posted on social media by some insensitive people but be guided by our official media releases.