The original article requires translation.
“There is no clash for me but I am very worried. When I read the time-table, I realized that I am taking 16 exams over nine days. Sometimes, it just makes me a day between two exams, ” says Yann Jhugroo-Cangy, 18, a student of the Higher School Certificate (HSC). He has just seen the Cambridge exam schedule recently published on the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES) website (find the detailed time table below). He must already "condition himself mentally and physically for such trials".
“It's already a very difficult year for the students of my vintage. If we don't have rest between the papers, I wonder how it will be. In my case, all of my exams are concentrated in April. This is the new normal. We cannot dispute. But I wonder how it will be done. Even for internal reviews, it takes two to three weeks. I am distressed now ” says the student.
Lack of time
The pressure is also starting for Alex, another HSC candidate, whose first Food and Nutrition exam is scheduled for March 23. “If the trials were set for the end of March, it would have been better. It would have given us more time. These reviews are practically behind the door. The month of February does not even count ” , specifies this pupil whose examinations extend until May 19. In order to maximize his time, he prefers to get down to revisions right now at home. “At school, we do revisions but personal work is really important and we don't have enough time. I have already done the syllabus. So, I go from home. As the deadline is short, I believe that many students will do the same. ”
Now that the timetable is published, the Ministry of Education will have to notify when attendance at school is no longer counted, says Basheer Taleb, president of the Federation of the Union of Managers of private colleges. “Right now that matters. Those who are absent will be penalized, ” he maintains. During normal periods, attendance is counted until September 15 each year. A 70% class attendance rate is usually required, says Munsoo Kurrimbaccus, vice president of the Union of Private Secondary Education Employees (UPSEE).
Lack of planning
What will happen this year? The schedule of exams thus compressed for some candidates, will it not further increase the pressure and absenteeism? “There was not enough planning. In advance, we knew that the exams would be held during this period. But the publication of the timetable caught the students off guard. It is not a good time for the Cambridge tests to be held, but we cannot do otherwise with the Covid-19 ” , declares our interlocutor. Going forward, he says, better planning is needed.
On the subject of absenteeism, he would like the teachers to work extra hard for a good preparation of the students. On the side of the Ministry of Education, we are told that the accounting for attendance will always be applied. According to a source in this body, students must continue to attend class until they have their final schedule, which will be handed over to their respective institutions.
The Cambridge exam schedule was made public by the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate a few days ago.
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