A revision has been made to the rankings of Tobago’s 2025 SEA top performers.
THA Division of Education officials addressed the matter at a media conference on Monday, seeking to clarify the issue after a student who was initially ranked second in Tobago’s 2025 Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) results was moved to third place.
School Supervisor II, Phillip Rochford, explained that following the release of the 2025 SEA results, the Ministry of Education indicated that one percent of the top 200 students came from Tobago. Parents were subsequently given the opportunity to query their children’s scores.
“That was done in the case of the child who was originally placed at third. And third in the context of the Tobago students. And so that process was left. In terms of the Ministry of Education selecting their top 200 students, it is normally done at the completion of all the queries and all the reviews. And in this case, the student who originally was at third place, a query was done by the parent, and they would have obtained additional marks.”
The child’s father told TTT News on Friday that when the Ministry of Education announced that the top 200 students nationwide would be honoured, he learned that two Tobago students were among them. Knowing his daughter placed second, he believed she was one of the awardees. However, after contacting the Division of Education for clarification, he was informed that she was not included. This left him and his daughter distraught, which he said prompted him to speak to the media.
Mr. Rochford stated that the Division did not receive this inquiry.
“Nobody reached out to me on that matter. And it’s not automatic that you would share another child’s or another parent’s information with somebody else. It’s not ethical and it’s not allowed. And in fact, when queries do come back, they come back sealed because it’s the parents that would do the query.”
THA Secretary of Education, Orlando Kerr, also weighed in on the matter, noting that he became aware of the situation through the media. He emphasised the primary purpose of the SEA examination.
“The primary purpose of this exam, the primary purpose of this exam—I’m going to repeat that—is for placement at schools. The other things that may happen as a result of the exam are peripheral things, right? And there’s a reason why I’m saying that because I don’t want us to lose focus on the purpose of the exam.”
Mr. Rochford described the situation as unfortunate for the child and urged her parents to remind her that exam placement does not define her.
Secretary Kerr also encouraged parents to use appropriate channels to address matters concerning their children.