(JAMAICA GLEANER) – The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) says it has implemented several measures to offer relief to students amid the displacement arising from the ongoing pandemic and the now impact of the eruption of the La Soufrière in St Vincent.
In a statement today, CXC said that it is cognisant of the many challenges across the region and stands ready to listen and to engage in dialogue with critical stakeholders across the education landscape.
The Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) has raised concerns about the exams and has accused CXC of operating in a business-as-usual manner.
READ: C’bean teachers’ union demands CXC changes amid regional crises
Among other things, the CUT has called for adjustments to the CXC syllabus and wants teachers and students to be informed of the topics for the examinations in a timely manner.
It has also criticised the regional examination body for the deferral arrangement being offered to students.
But, CXC stated that it has been responding to the current situation.
Among other things, it indicated that it has reduced the SBA requirements by as much as 50 per cent in some subjects, noting that this information is outlined in the SBA Student Handbook, which was published and posted on the CXC website and shared via social media in November 2020 and February 2021.
Further, CXC says it will share the broad topics to be assessed on Paper 02 for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects with the Ministries of Education for distribution to all candidates on May 10, which is five weeks before the start of the examinations, for subjects where such details are not already available in the syllabus.
Candidates are however reminded that the entire syllabus is assessed on Paper 01.
CXC outlined other measures:
* CXC has implemented a facility for candidates to defer sitting examinations and submitting School Based Assessments (SBAs) until January 2022 (CSEC) or the May/June 2022 (CAPE, CSEC and CCSLC) examinations cycle.
* SBA scores can be transferred for use in the next examination sitting, where the subject is offered.
* The rules pertaining to the reuse of SBA scores for resit candidates remain unchanged.
* Candidates may also submit a new SBA or delay submission of SBAs until the chosen sitting.
* For the first time, CXC will accept SBAs in January 2022 for candidates deferring to sit examinations for subjects offered in that period.
* The granting of the deferral will be managed by the principal, for in-school candidates, and by the CXC local registrar for private candidates.
* Candidates should indicate an intent to defer from the June/July 2021 examination cycle by 1 May 2021. There will be no fee charged for the deferral of examinations.
* The deferral procedures were shared directly with all Ministries of Education and local registrars from across the region on Friday, March 262 and Friday, April 9 and communications placed on the CXC website.
* In preparation for exams, students can also access a range of examination-related resources via www.cxc.org/student-central/.
