KINGSTON, Jamaica — Fi We Children Foundation (FWCF) is renewing its call for greater clarity under the Education Act on the extent of school administrators’ authority to exclude students from graduation ceremonies, urging the introduction of clearer statutory limits to guard against arbitrary decision-making.

The renewed appeal follows media reports that a former student of Holland High School in Trelawny was barred from participating in her graduation ceremony after failing to sit the school’s mandatory Electronic Document Preparation and Management (EDPM) examination, despite reportedly being invited to deliver the keynote address at the institution’s valedictory service.

In a release issued Tuesday, FWCF cited reports that said the student questioned the school’s reliance on the grade nine EDPM examination as a graduation requirement. She reportedly alleged that frequent teacher absences left her inadequately prepared to sit the assessment. Her mother also claimed the matter was reported to the Ministry of Education about two weeks before graduation, but no intervention occurred before the ceremony.