Grade 10 paper ends abruptly

THE future of Grade 10 students of Badihagwa High School hangs in the balance after they failed to complete their examination yesterday.
The Grade 10 students at this school were forced to stop writing their final national examination paper on social science 45 minutes early.
Assessment coordinator Richard Lelori said parents came to the school as early as 10.30am to collect their children when news spread that a tsunami would hit PNG at exactly 11:23am.
“The exam was to end at 11.30am but because parents demanded their children, we had to stop the examination 45 minutes early to send them off,” he said.
Mr Lelori said he was very disappointed as the decision was made by a minority and the external invigilators who had all the power to decide during the national examination.
However, an official said
the environment was not right for the students to continue with the examination and their parents had the right to take their children home as a precautionary measure.
“Sadly, for the 360 Grade 10 students, they will not sit for their exams again because once it has been sat for, that’s it,” Mr Lelori said.
“Once it is cancelled, it is over to the measurement services unit to decide what to do next,” he said.
“This is a nationwide disturbance and I, for one, am very disappointed of how much disruption it has caused us,” he said.
Meanwhile, most primary schools in NCD sent their students home after they learnt of the tsunami warning, including the Hagara primary, Taurama primary, Pari primary, Waigani primary and Ted Diro primary school, just to name a few.
Headmistress of the Ted Diro Primary School, Hane Charlie, told The National she sent her 1,540 students home well before lunch time.
Waigani primary school headmaster Kai Kala also said that by 11.45am, his 1,800 students were sent home.
“It’s better to take precautions than to ignore such warnings,” they said.