Parents of students due to sit for their SEC and Matsec exams next month have suggested that, rather than cancelling or postponing exams to the summer, students are graded on their mocks.

The level of difficulty of mock exams across different schools would be taken into consideration, the parents proposed in an open letter to the prime minister and the education minister.

The mock exam papers would be reviewed by Matsec Board, with the least difficult paper being used as a baseline.

Each student would then be given, say, 15% over and above the mark obtained in the mocks to reward their hard work done towards their SEC and Matsec exams.

“The papers of other schools will then be given extra marks depending on the difficulty thereof when compared to the baseline paper,” the parents, representing students from various schools, wrote.

What is happening at present is definitely not the children’s fault

They said the procrastination on making any official announcement was having a psychological impact on the children.

Students needed to know their well-being was safeguarded and that they were not at a disadvantage compared to students in previous years.

Another point made by the parents, who preferred to stay unnamed to protect their children, was that some jobs had been lost and some families were suffering financially.

This meant they would not be able to afford tuition from now until September.

“What is happening at present is definitely not our children’s fault and they should not pay any price for this.

“Any decisions taken by the authorities in their regard should be to their sole benefit,” the parents contended.