The Ministry of Education will no longer publish the names of the top performers of the Secondary Entrance Assessment examination, saying it is  “extremely concerned that this practice now has the potential to have our young scholars now put under undue pressure to secure a high ranking in the SEA examination and diminish their self-worth.”

“In particular, this public practice has resulted in students who have performed admirably, even to secure a second place in their first-choice secondary school, to have their performances overshadowed by an unhealthy competitiveness, often driven by parents, over relative examination scores, which are preliminary,” Education Minister Dr. Nyan Gadsby said in a media conference on Friday.

SEA students were able to access their results just after midnight, via the Education Ministry’s recently launched online portal.

Parents/guardians are told, however, that while results can be accessed virtually, the paper-based result slips must be collected for student placement in the secondary school system.

Meanwhile, the Minister lamented performance statistics showed lower overall performance compared to last year. 

Of the 19, 079 students who sat the exam, only 37.06% scored above 50%.

In 2021, the percentage was 52.49.

Over 9000 students scored under 50%. For this group, Minister Gadsby-Dolly announced there will be a Vacation Revision Programme running from July 18th – August 12th at 26 Secondary Schools.