San Fernando has done it again...a girl topped this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination. Sandyha Sookhoo, 11, of Grant Memorial Presbyterian, San Fernando, was the top performer as the top three places went to schools in south Trinidad. Kay-Lynn Ramlal, of Tulsa Trace Hindu School, and Troy Samlalsingh, of San Fernando Trinidad Muslim League (TML) Primary School were the second and third place students respectively. Last year’s top student, Rebecca Ann Jattan, also came from San Fernando.
The three were announced yesterday as Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh visited the schools of each student to share the news with them, their parents, teachers and other pupils. There were tears of joy, whoops of happiness, cheers, hugs and tons of laughs as the success of the pupils were celebrated. This is the third time a student of Grant Memorial Presbyterian has topped the SEA examination. In 2004 Reanna Gobin, a student of Grant Memorial Presbyterian, also topped the SEA examination. In 2000, the school also placed first in the exam. Of the 18,039 pupils, ten students from Grant Memorial Presbyterian and San Fernando TML placed within the top 200 students and four students from Tulsa Trace Hindu School also placed within the top 200.
Gopeesingh said he was “extremely pleased” with the results and added there were marked improvements in the Creative Writing Component CWC) which he attributed to the addition of the Continuous Assessment Component (CAC).
When asked if he found schools in Port-of-Spain were being outperformed by South schools, Gopeesingh said: “From our analysis the Port-of-Spain schools are having difficulties and we will be looking to correct that.” He said he placed a lot of emphasis on some of the schools along the East/West Corridor. When asked why it might be so, Gopeesingh said it might be a combination of factors, such as dedication by parents and teachers and the community. He said all the etiological factors must be worked with in the future to help prevent such an occurrence in the future. He said, however, that further analysis on the matter was needed. The minister said there was a marked increase in this year’s creative writing and language arts. He said students scoring above 50 per cent in the language arts examination had increased by over seven per cent this year. While he admitted that mathematics had remained the same, he said, the ministry hoped to improve on that.
He said students receiving 30 per cent or less overall also had decreased from 14.6 per cent last year to 9.9 per cent and he said he hoped to move that to zero. Gopeesingh, while at Tulsa Trace Hindu School, said he wished he could do away with the SEA exam and said with CAC the ministry was on its way to doing that. However, there was a commonality between all three students who topped the examination. They said they distributed their time between academics and extra-curricular activities, with third place student Samlalsingh saying he wanted to become a lawyer and a pro-footballer and one day play for his favourite team Manchester United. Sookhoo was described by her mother, Marsha Sookhoo as “Ms Grant Memorial” since her daughter was involved in many of the school’s extra-curricular activities. Sookhoo attributed her success to hard work, prayer “and the work of our teachers and parents.” Sookhoo, who will be attending Naparima Girls’ High School in September, hopes to be a pediatrician.
Her father, Kelly Sookhoo, is a surgeon at the San Fernando General Hospital. Sookhoo’s advice to future SEA students: “Work hard and believe in yourself and trust God in everything.” Marsha said her daughter had to determine what she wanted to do in life. She said she was an all-round child and described her as being very grounded. Ramlal cried on hearing the good news of being the second top performing SEA student. Her parents, Radika and Kello Ramlal, also cried when they heard the good news. Like Sookhoo, Ramlal will be entering Naparima Girls’ High School in September. Oropouche West MP Stacy Roopnarine-Lyder was present at the ceremony at Tulsa Trace Hindu School, Seepersad Trace, Penal. The school was officially opened last June.
She said: “I am very happy all my hardwork paid off.” When asked what she wanted to be rewarded with from her parents, Ramlal said nothing as her mother hugged her. Her mother, Radika, said her child worked hard and made sacrifices which led to her second place. Radika, too, told other parents to support their child/children and to be there for them. Samlalsingh said he was shocked at first but very happy.