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The line out­side an ice cream shop at South­Park Mall, San Fer­nan­do, be­gan to buck­le just hours af­ter the fi­nal pa­per was writ­ten, as chil­dren fresh out of the Sec­ondary En­trance As­sess­ment (SEA) pressed for­ward, hop­ing to be among the first 100 to claim a vouch­er and a bank ac­count re­ward.

It was a sharp con­trast to how the day be­gan.

From as ear­ly as 7 am, par­ents across South Trinidad stood out­side school gates, walk­ing their chil­dren in and hold­ing on to their own nerves as tight­ly as they held their chil­dren’s hands.