The Extended Programme (EP) has undergone many changes since its conception in 2017. The last modification to be brought to the EP is the mode of evaluation for the EP students. In fact, the Hon. minister, in a reply to a PNQ, said that there will be school-based assessments, which will carry 40% of the marks and then the final exam (NEC) will carry 60% of the marks for the EP students. This is what I recommended in my report “EP – A process Evaluation” in December 2018. Finally, the ministry has come to reason and has reached a logical conclusion based on facts that have been drawn to their attention years ago. Better late than never! However, the EP has already made some 6000 victims in the past two years.
This article is aimed at drawing the attention of the Ministry of education for timely actions, as their late decisions and/or inactions had caused much damage to the EP students. The different options for the non-core subjects offered lately to the EP students are just one example. Late delivery of EP textbooks has become a common practice at the ministry.
The school-based assessments will be reckoned for certification; it becomes therefore, imperative that the assessments are authentic, valid, reliable, fair and consistent to all students, irrespective of their institutions whether public or private. The question of fairness is very important. It implies that all students are assessed in the same conditions, in terms of time allocation, language used, assistance and facilities offered, … when undergoing the school-based assessments. The question of consistency is equally important as assessors at school level may be subjectively biased in their allocation of marks to the students. These characteristics of school-based assessments are not new to the MIE nor to the MES.
So, I hereby draw the attention of the ministry to carefully look into this issue at the very beginning of the school year 2024, and not to have things done in the last hour. Moreover, schools running EP classes should be informed well in advance of the whole procedure about carrying out the school-based assessments. For each examinable subject, schools should be provided with,
(i) A calendar for the different school-based assessments which are evenly distributed within the three school terms.
(ii) Samples of specimen papers with the marking scheme for practice.
Next, school-based assessments require the training of the educators. This mode of assessment should be embedded in the overall teaching-learning process. Teachers for all the examinable subjects need to be equipped with adequate skills in setting up their own competency-based question papers for formative assessments. Thirdly, marks scored in school-based assessments should be moderated. External moderators need to be identified and properly trained for the moderation exercise. I sincerely hope this paper will move the ministry in taking timely actions.
A pertinent question now arises. Since EP students are assessed differently and are awarded a completely different certificate – the NCE/EP certificate, then why having the same question papers for the Mainstream as well as for the Extended Stream in the final written NCE examination? I will, here, reiterate my advice to the ministry in thinking seriously about setting different question papers for the EP students, based on what has been taught to them in class. In that context, the so-called adapted curriculum needs to be re-visited and new textbooks based on the reviewed curriculum be provided. Accordingly, the mainstream students should be assessed by different question papers that do justice to their level of competence, and not similar to the ones of October 2023, where the mainstream students “had to put much effort to fail” as rightly pointed out by the president of UPSEE on a private radio, though he did not want to be sarcastic nor cynical.
Some 1950 EP students (700 girls and 1250 boys) who have failed the NCE in December 2023 will be provided with a lifejacket (bouée de sauvetage) – the Bright Up Programme. Some 1100 EP students of the 2019 cohort (400 girls and 700 boys) left the school system. Will the Ministry consider having them back in the system by enrolling them for the Bright Up Programme? I have much doubt due to limited number of seats in the MITD centres. In my last article, (see Le Mauricien (Forum) of 13 Dec 2023) I expressed my apprehensions regarding this Bright Up Programme. My main concern was the availability of seats in the MITD centres. Next, those centres are quite remote from the residence of the to-be admitted students. For instance, a student residing in Port Louis may get admission in a centre in Goodlands. Third, the courses offered are not girl-friendly, resulting in poor interest from the girls. Fourth, the centres are not adequately equipped with tools and equipment for practical classes. Those students need to have ample hands-on practice to acquire the skills in the trades and not simply watching the demonstrations by the trainers.
Moreover, what will be the contribution of the National Social Inclusion Foundation in the Bright Up Programme? Will their contribution be value for the money invested? All these concerns are just a warning to the ministry. If due consideration is not given, I am afraid, the Hon. Minister may face embarrassing parliamentary questions (PQs).
To conclude this article, I would reiterate my suggestion of having the EP students exposed to an intensive course in literacy (English and French) and numeracy (Maths) during their first year (Grade 7) and then, offering them the opportunity to sit for the PSAC. Some 10% of the EP students can be saved and placed in the mainstream with better chance of success in their secondary education. Those who have not been so successful, will gain much in literacy and numeracy, very helpful in their way forward. Alongside, I suggest that the Grade 7 EP class be given to the ex-PV Educators who had shown great interest and enthusiasm in teaching those students, who have been identified having big learning difficulties.
Je souhaite une bonne rentrée scolaire à tous!