JC exams suffer another blow

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Tuesday November 2, 2010 00:00

 

The students will have to sit for a re-set exam after a mix-up last week saw English Paper Three being distributed at a certain school instead of Paper One.

The Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) spokesman, Charles Keikotlhae said the chief invigilator took back the paper and distributed the right one after he realised the mistake.

However, because the students had already opened Paper Three, it has been decided that yesterday's examination should be cancelled and re-set.

'After the invigilator realised that he had administered the wrong paper he took it back and gave the students the correct one but the fact that it was opened and given to the students who had paged it, warranted the cancellation,' Keikotlhae said. 

The postponement of English Paper Three to November 24 means that the JC examination period will be extended by two days to November 26. 

Last week, there were reports that during English Paper One, students in different junior secondary schools left the examination rooms in tears after the temporary invigilators failed to deliver the reading comprehension to their expectations. It is said some headmasters used public address systems and temporary invigilators were not comfortable with the reading part.

This resulted in a one-hour delay and students requesting the temporary invigilators to repeat the passage four times because they did not grasp anything from the reading.

The exams have been hit by invigilation problems, after a boycott by teachers over a pay dispute with BEC. The exams body has been forced to hire temporary invigilators to save the situation but it has not been smooth sailing.

Meanwhile, the president of the Botswana Secondary Teachers Union  (BOSETU), Shandukani Hlabano said it is evident that the credibility of the examination has been compromised.

'Now it is like we are fighting with BEC. Invigilating might appear to be easier where everyone can do it but in actual fact, it needs focused and experienced people. Otherwise mistakes will continue to happen,' he said.