Parents will have a very hard time securing school transfers for their children this year, as the Ministry of Education has declared a freeze on student transfers.

This decision comes in light of yesterday’s release of the Grade 6 National Assessment results, which also included secondary school placements for each student.

Director of Education Clare Browne emphasized, “Barring any errors of placement made by the Ministry of Education—meaning if somehow somebody lives in Freetown and we assign them to St. Mary’s Secondary School—so barring something like that, the Ministry of Education is not going to be accommodating transfers.”

The selection process allows only the top 100 students to choose their preferred schools, while others are assigned based on geographical proximity, school capacities, or special educational needs.

This year, a total of 1,288 students took the exams.

Browne highlighted the limitations of public-school capacities, stating, “If you were to divide 1,288 by 12, you would see that the students would not be able to fit into public schools. Now, thankfully, we have private schools that accommodate, and some families will opt for private education.”