All public high school and intermediate exams for the English and francophone school districts in Newfoundland and Labrador are cancelled for this year.
Education Minister Brian Warr announced the decision at Thursday’s daily briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The cancellation of exams does not mean that learning is ending or the school year is over,” said Warr.
Students will be given a grade to reflect their work to March 13th, the final day of classes before schools were closed because of the pandemic. Students will get this mark by April 22nd.
Education and instruction will move online and will see teachers connect through Google Classroom and Google Meet, but the exact details are still being worked out.
When pressed on how students who may not have internet access will be able to take part, Warr didn’t have specific information, and only said the government was working on it.
“Not one student will be disadvantaged here because of connectivity,” he said.
Shortly after Warr’s announcement, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association sent out a media release, praising the move.
“The NLTA supports this decision, and agrees that should schools be in a position to reopen this school year, the focus needs to be on instruction, not testing,” reads the statement.
The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District said it is in talks with Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic “with regards to flexibility around entrance requirements and their processes for determining scholarship recipients.”