Most PEP Students in Region Five Placed at Preferred School

Approximately 89 per cent of students who sat the 2023 Primary Exit Profile examinations in Region Five, were placed in schools of their choice.

A further breakdown shows that 90 per cent of females passed for a school of their choice and 88 per cent of males were placed at their preferred school.

Region Five consists of schools in the parishes of St. Elizabeth, Clarendon, and Manchester.

Speaking at the region’s back to school conference, Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, lauded the collaborative work of teachers, parents and school leaders, throughout the school year.

“You make a difference because you are there…monitoring, guiding, ensuring that things happen…everybody’s pulling together to ensure that we get the results that we all want,” she stated.

The conference was held recently at the Golf View Hotel in Manchester under the theme, ‘Education Transformation: Enabling and Maximising Student Talents and Abilities’.

Mrs. Williams also informed stakeholders that the Ministry remains committed to equipping schools with the necessary resources, as the 2023/24 academic year approaches.

“We have 2100 pieces of students’ desks and chairs [and] 100 pieces of teachers’ desks and chairs that we had already started distributing… and we also have some procurements on the way,” she said.

She also noted that the distribution of textbooks and e-books began on July 24.

Meanwhile, Acting Director of Regional Education Services, Nevadeene Gallimore Miller said only two per cent of students who sat the PEP exams in the region, were manually placed at a secondary institution.

“That is an achievement for the region. Over the years when the PEP results are released, a number of parents find themselves at the Regional Office, requesting support with transfer or with placement. This year, the numbers have been relatively low with the region,” she stated.

Mrs. Gallimore Miller emphasised that the achievement is an indication that the students were “pleased” with where they were placed.

Overall, students across the island showed notable improvements in their PEP examinations when compared to 2019. In 2020 and 2021, the PEP exams had to be modified due to the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in the sector.

For Mathematics 57 per cent of students were rated as proficient or highly proficient compared to 41 per cent in 2019. Language Arts also showed improvements with 60 per cent of students attaining proficient or highly proficient, compared to 55 per cent in 2019.