A company which sets post-primary transfer tests has been criticised by the Deputy First Minister for announcing a new test date.
The Association for Quality Education (AQE) earlier announced the three tests scheduled to take place in January would be cancelled amid a fresh lockdown in Northern Ireland.
Hours later, however, AQE said following consultation with schools it would hold a single test on February 27, public health conditions permitting.
Michelle O’Neill reacted by tweeting “Shame on AQE” and urged Education Minister Peter Weir to “act now”.
The tests are set by two private companies, AQE and the Post Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC), the latter which earlier announced it “will not provide an entrance assessment for 2020-21”.
AQE said transfer tests planned for January 16 and January 23 would not take place.
Later it issued a fresh statement announcing a single test would be held on Saturday February 27.
“Following a meeting with the schools which use the common entrance assessment (CEA), produced by AQE Limited, it has been agreed that to enable the assessment to take place in the current circumstances, the assessment will be reduced to a single paper to be held on Saturday February 27, provided it can take place in public health circumstances then prevailing,” AQE said.
Earlier, parents of P7 children who had been due to sit tests gave mixed reactions.
Dominic Bryan, from north Belfast, whose daughter had been preparing to sit both sets of tests, said it had been a day of mixed emotions for their family.
“It was not a easy choice for my wife and I to make, but we wanted give our daughter the most chances,” he told the PA news agency.
“We’re disappointed that we got this far without a decision being made but also somewhat relieved because my wife and I were struggling with the idea of our daughter going into those tests.”
He said he was amazed that the decision to cancel the tests had taken so long.
He said: “Leaving that decision to parents until now was outrageous. I don’t think I have ever felt so angry about anything as we appeared to be being left with this decision (and) that they could not come up with a plan B up until this point.
“I am still amazed.”
Co Down mother Nicola McIlhagger voiced her disappointment.
“We’re extremely disappointed. My daughter has been working so hard all over Christmas, doing her practice papers, and we thought we were on the final countdown at last,” she said.
“Now she is upset, wondering how she will get into a school.
“For the schools in Belfast where she had wanted to go, our postcode is not particularly close, and then because she is an only child, there is no brother or sister in the school to help – if that criteria is used.”
Phil Meredith, from South Belfast, said: “All the hard work my daughter has been doing since the start of last year for this test is wasted.
“My daughter has a better chance of getting in to grammar school through the AQE rather than the sub-criteria.”
Naomi McBurney, who runs the campaign Bring It Back To Primary, said parents are very divided on the matter.
“There are parents who are very concerned that if their child doesn’t get the opportunity to sit the test, then they are going to be disadvantaged; for example, if they have an eldest child or only child, the main thing for them would be that the test was a more fair way for them to get access to a school that they want to go to,” she said.
“It’s quite frustrating for those opposed to the test because they are saying the country has had to sacrifice so much.
“The problem is the alternative criteria for schools isn’t transparent as yet. The 12 schools that said they would cancel the test back in June have indicated that it would be sub-criteria – so if you had a child already at the school or if you have a parent that had previously attended the school or a member of the family on the board of governors – similar to that of nurseries, not based on academic criteria.”
Ms McBurney has been running a campaign which urges that children be allowed to sit the transfer test in their own school, instead of having to travel to a large testing centre.
She has also called for reform of the system, with testing regulated by the Department of Education and reduced from children potentially sitting up to five papers if they take both the AQE and PPTC tests to one.
The department-set transfer test was previously abolished, with the last 11-plus paper sat in 2008.
