The 150 students who wrote the 2016 nursing exams, which were allegedly compromised, will be rewriting the exams later this month.
According to Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence, her Ministry sought assistance from the Education Ministry in making a decision on the matter.
As such, the Education Ministry was tasked with preparing and executing the exams. The Ministry will also be responsible for marking the papers. This, she noted, was done in consultation with her Ministry.
The students are scheduled to rewrite the exams on February 21 and the results are expected to be available by February 28.
Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence at the press conference on Monday
“The Education Ministry will act on behalf of the Ministry of Public Health to one, engage its personnel, to prepare the multiple choice question, to administer those questions on the 21st of February, to have a group of persons recruited to mark the essay part of the question and so on the 28th of February, it is expected that the results from the examinations will be presented,” the Public Health Minister explained.
Following the disclosure, Vibert Stewart, a nursing student representative, revealed that the situation has taken a toll on the students, leaving them in a ‘disturbed emotional state’.
However, the Minister announced that the Health Ministry will be hiring a teacher to tutor the 150 students who are expected to sit the exams. This will ensure that the students are well equipped.
Moreover, when questioned about the investigation into the alleged leaking of the multiple choice section of the exam papers, Minister Lawrence could not provide an answer and instead directed further questions to Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum.
“I have been in contact with the Police, I do not want to say much about that aspect, but what I can say is that the investigations are continuing,” Lawrence said.
An investigation was launched after it was reported that the nurse’s examination papers were leaked before the sitting and assessment of 250 nursing students on October 19 and 20, 2016.
The Principal Tutor of the Georgetown School of Nursing, Cleopatra Barkoye had announced to the students that they will be required to rewrite the exams following the development.
However, the nurses were outraged at this and staged multiple protest actions calling for an alternative decision.
However, after lengthy debates and discussions within the Public Health Ministry, it was determined that having the nurses rewrite the examination would be wiser.
