Removing The Stigma Of 30 Percenters

The Concerned Parent Movement of T&T is calling for the stigma attached to students who score 30% or less to be removed from the education system. Thirty percenters is a category that has become attached to underachieving students at the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) Exam. However, the SEA result is not based entirely on literacy and some students' marks are bolstered by their mathematics performance. Research Officer for the Movement, Michelle Omar-Leiba, is worried the label does not help develop other natural skills that students possess. She says students frustrated by their literacy deficiency need to have their self-esteem built up. Mrs. Omar-Leiba says that the key to solving the literacy problem at schools is to genuinely care for the students' welfare. Education Minister, Dr. Nyan Gadsby Dolly has already indicated that going forward the names of the top-placed students will not be publicised. She cited unhealthy competitiveness as the reason the Ministry had come to that decision.