Education Minister Andrew Holness will next week present
to Parliament a Ministry Paper outlining how students are ranked for placement
and the awarding of scholarships in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).
This follows recent comments in the media questioning the award of scholarships and a protest lodged by one parent carried in one of the dailies on Friday.
In recent weeks, it has become apparent that there remain several unanswered questions among parents and the general public regarding the awards system.
This was compounded by the recent controversial lawsuit involving a young girl the courts found to have been wrongfully deprived of her scholarship last year.
On Friday, the parents of another student went public with similar complaints.
They questioned the granting of the top male GSAT achiever award to 11-year-old James Robertson of Montego Bay, St. James.
According to the parents, their child, Win Phyu (WINFEW) Tun had attained a higher average than Robertson.
However, the Ministry upheld the award after its review panel looked over the grades.
The Panel said grades are compiled based on a weighted average.
This means that high passes in specific subjects push averages up.
The panel said it was satisfied that the scholarships for the 2008 GSAT high achievers went to the correct candidates.
The Education Minister will try once and for all to demystify the process in Parliament on Tuesday, after which the message will be expanded in a public education campaign.
Kristie withdraws action
The legal battle between the Ministry of Education and the parents of Kristi Charles, 11, who was denied a GSAT scholarship last year, has ended.
The matter ended Friday afternoon when Kristi's parents decided to withdraw the lawsuit filed against the Ministry.
High Court judge Mr. Justice Bryan Sykes was preparing to hear legal submissions on whether the government is liable to pay damages to the student when attorney Andre Earl told him he was withdrawing the suit.
Mr. Earl said Kristi's parents had instructed him to withdraw the lawsuit since that in light of the outcome in the first case, they felt that their daughter had been vindicated and accordingly they had no further interest in pursuing the matter.
Last week, the Education Ministry agreed to pay Kristi $1.4 million over the next seven years in lieu of the GSAT scholarship she was denied.
Kristi also received a special scholarship dubbed "the Ministry of Education's Excellence Scholarship Award".
Education Ministry Andrew Holness explained that the scholarship's name was due to the fact that another student holds the original title of Top Performing Girl.
In February, RJR News broke the story of the girl and her family taking on the Ministry after it refused to grant her a scholarship although she recorded the highest score among girls islandwide.
This follows recent comments in the media questioning the award of scholarships and a protest lodged by one parent carried in one of the dailies on Friday.
In recent weeks, it has become apparent that there remain several unanswered questions among parents and the general public regarding the awards system.
This was compounded by the recent controversial lawsuit involving a young girl the courts found to have been wrongfully deprived of her scholarship last year.
On Friday, the parents of another student went public with similar complaints.
They questioned the granting of the top male GSAT achiever award to 11-year-old James Robertson of Montego Bay, St. James.
According to the parents, their child, Win Phyu (WINFEW) Tun had attained a higher average than Robertson.
However, the Ministry upheld the award after its review panel looked over the grades.
The Panel said grades are compiled based on a weighted average.
This means that high passes in specific subjects push averages up.
The panel said it was satisfied that the scholarships for the 2008 GSAT high achievers went to the correct candidates.
The Education Minister will try once and for all to demystify the process in Parliament on Tuesday, after which the message will be expanded in a public education campaign.
Kristie withdraws action
The legal battle between the Ministry of Education and the parents of Kristi Charles, 11, who was denied a GSAT scholarship last year, has ended.
The matter ended Friday afternoon when Kristi's parents decided to withdraw the lawsuit filed against the Ministry.
High Court judge Mr. Justice Bryan Sykes was preparing to hear legal submissions on whether the government is liable to pay damages to the student when attorney Andre Earl told him he was withdrawing the suit.
Mr. Earl said Kristi's parents had instructed him to withdraw the lawsuit since that in light of the outcome in the first case, they felt that their daughter had been vindicated and accordingly they had no further interest in pursuing the matter.
Last week, the Education Ministry agreed to pay Kristi $1.4 million over the next seven years in lieu of the GSAT scholarship she was denied.
Kristi also received a special scholarship dubbed "the Ministry of Education's Excellence Scholarship Award".
Education Ministry Andrew Holness explained that the scholarship's name was due to the fact that another student holds the original title of Top Performing Girl.
In February, RJR News broke the story of the girl and her family taking on the Ministry after it refused to grant her a scholarship although she recorded the highest score among girls islandwide.
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