Neeha Mungly failed her Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) exams twice. She was then put into the prevocational stream, the place where all kids who fail twice end up. Six years later, she has got her School Certificate (SC).

?This proves that even if a child has failed twice, there?s still hope. If the teacher and the system have the right attitudes, everything is possible?, says Yaseen Mungly, Neeha?s father.

An ex-student of Newton College, which closed earlier this year, Neeha is now studying hard to get her A-levels as a private candidate. After that, she?s planning to study Arts or Accounts at a higher level. Neeha?s journey is a rather exceptional one. After three years of prevocational education, she went back to the mainstream in Form II. Sadly, this is not the norm. ?The manager of her school understood the importance for those children of a second chance?, testifies Yaseen Mungly. It is not the first time that children get back into the mainstream after three years of prevocational in that school.

This is one of the options offered by the prevoc project but it?s hardly used. ?The initiative is a laudable one but a new impetus is needed.? This is the opinion of a zone director attached to the ministry of Education. Seven years after its creation, prevocational classes need to be rethought.

<B>Difficult cohabitation</B>

Before the creation of those classes, students who failed twice at the CPE level were pushed out of the system. By introducing prevocational classes in each and every college, government gave new hope to those children by giving them a second chance to integrate the system.

But some problems cropped up. Firstly, some students, parents and even teachers of popular State colleges (e.g Royal College, Queen Elizabeth College) were not happy about having those youngsters in ?their? schools. ?It was a major problem. Too many were prejudiced against those prevoc kids and sometimes cohabitation between them and mainstream students was, and still is difficult in some state colleges?, confides this zone director.

Following moves by some lobbyists, the ministry took the necessary steps to phase out the prevocational streams in those schools, which have now become national colleges. And every year, other schools are phasing out this stream. Even some private colleges, like for instance St Helena and Aleemiah, have started to gradually eliminate their prevocational classes.

What is to be done with those students after the completion of their three years is another major issue. After completion of prevoc, they are supposed to continue their education by starting a one-year NTC 3 foundation course at the Industrial and Vocational Training Board (IVTB). Following which, they can carry on with a NTC 3 course. ?After the NTC foundation course, they are not really ready to take up a job as such. They still need more training but places are hard to get. Less then 25% manage to get a place for a NTC 3 course?, confesses a source at IVTB.

But the ministry is working hard to change things. ?We?re bringing in a brand new Technical and Vocational Education Training system. We will try to give a new impulse to this sector. The reform report has already been approved and we will start consultations soon?, says minister of Education Dharam Gokhool.

?The present system has not been well planned. After three years, prevocational students go for the NTC foundation course and after that, what choices do they have? We?re looking into that and want to streamline things?, he adds.

Will the prevocational pupils be canalized into special institutions? ?This is a possibility but we haven?t taken any decision on the matter yet. But one thing is for sure, we need to offer better prospects to those students?, says minister Gokhool.