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May 24, 1996
(Education)

The following statement was issued today by Roger Grimes, Minister of Education. It was also read in the House of Assembly: Ministerial statement - Cancellation of public exams

Yesterday I gave an update on the situation with respect to the elimination of the Public Examinations Marking Board. At that time I indicated government had anticipated that the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association would cooperate in light of the serious financial situation faced by the province, and the reasonableness of our request. I regret having to inform you today that the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association has informed me that they are not prepared to reconsider the position that they have taken. Consequently, teachers have indicated that they will not mark public examinations this year.

I am most disappointed that the NLTA has taken such a firm stand and has directed its teachers not to mark these examinations. Government has decided that it has no choice but to announce today the elimination of the public examinations for this year. Schools, in consultation with the school districts, will decide on the method of evaluation for all students who would have taken the public examinations. The Department of Education will expect schools to submit a final mark based upon an assessment by teachers.

We have already been in contact with Memorial University on this matter. The senate at the university has authority on admissions standards. The university will be provided with a set of marks for each student on which to judge admissions. We will ask the university to convene its senate committee as soon as possible to deal with this matter on an urgent basis. We do not anticipate any problems with admissions at the university, nor do we anticipate any admission problems with the colleges.

In order to allocate scholarships the Department of Education will be offering students an opportunity to write a scholarship exam, which will be administered at a scheduled date by schools throughout the province.

It is with considerable regret that I have to make this statement today. Certainly, it was government's intention that the public examinations would proceed but using a different method for marking the exams. The teachers have seen fit not to cooperate, consequently I am left with no option but to eliminate the public examinations for this year.