Planned protest at Steer Town Academy averted

By Nakinskie Robinson    

 

A planned protest action on Thursday morning by members of the Steer Town Academy's Parent Teachers Association was averted.

 

The action had been planned after the school's board on Wednesday evening voted to remove Principal Sharn Mongal and exam coordinator Andre Yeeshui after several hearings and a final disciplinary hearing on Tuesday.

 

Radio Jamaica News has also been informed that a third teacher is also under investigation for their role in a cheating scandal at the St. Ann based institution.

 

The institution has been embroiled in controversy after an investigation into a massive Caribbean Examinations Council cheating scandal which involved the leaking of exam papers to several students in the 2022 May/June sitting of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Exams.

 

Several charges, including neglect of duty, were laid against the educators.

 

Radio Jamaica News on Thursday morning observed several members of the Jamaica Defence Force and the Jamaica Constabulary Force, who caught wind of the planned protest, roaming the school grounds in an attempt to foil any possible disruption.

 

Efforts to contact PTA President Maxine Green-Butter for a comment on the matter proved futile.

 

When contacted, Chairman of the school's board, Ann-Marie Bishop, said she would not speak on the matter at this time.

 

The board's decision to sack the principal and other staff member follows the Overseas Examinations Commission's probe into the matter in 2022, out of which the Commission had recommended disciplinary action.

 

The OEC, earlier Thursday, emphasised the importance of security and proper management of examination materials.

 

While it withheld comment on the disciplinary decision, it said it remains dedicated to upholding integrity and trust, through administering exams under equitable and safe conditions.

 

Sharon Burnett, Deputy Director with special responsibility for Examinations at OEC, also cautioned school administrators about the regional consequences of non-compliance to exam regulations, while urging all schools to become familiar with their responsibilities. 

 

"If something goes wrong in Jamaica, it affects the entire Caribbean. It really puts into question the security of examinations in Jamaica as a whole. The OEC has completed an exercise of engagement with all its examination centres over the past three, going into four months now, where we have revisited with our stakeholders the guidelines, visited centres to identify areas of weakness and we are in the process of addressing all those," she outlined. 

 

She said the Commission has implemented a quality assurance programme and has revised its systems to deal with exam irregularities that may arise from technology use.