Angelo Jedidiah
angelo.jedidiah@guardian.co.tt
For another year, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has been criticised for being ‘fatally flawed’ in the structuring and administration of exams following a series of reported issues across the region.
In an interview on CNC3’s The Morning Brew programme, Caribbean Coalition for Education Redress spokeswoman Paula-Anne Moore said there is something fundamentally wrong with the governance of CXC by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) body, suggesting that an overhaul of the examination council is desperately needed.
“The children are demoralised, frustrated, disgusted by the lack of care and concern that is being demonstrated,” Moore said.
Since the start of the May-June 2024 exam period, several issues have been raised, such as the distribution of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Principles of Accounts Paper II, at unnamed regional centres. CXC has announced that an investigation has been launched.
Additionally, discrepancies with this year’s Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) Chemistry Paper II have been highlighted. According to reports, 25 to 30 per cent of exam questions were unrelated to CXC’s prescribed list of objectives for the unit.
In response, an online petition has been launched, supported by over 2500 teachers and students demanding a re-adjustment of the marking criteria for this year’s exams.
“There are challenges but year after year we have the same issue again. It is not good enough. Collectively we are letting down our children. And frankly, parents, teachers, governments and CXC, we are all responsible for the mental damage and the harm to education and career prospects we are perpetuating against our children,” Moore said.
Moore, who is also a parent advocate from Barbados claimed that despite concerns being raised by the public yearly, CXC continues to ignore their pleas. This, she adds, has prompted some to opt out of the region’s exam process. Some, strongly pleading for CXC to be ‘scrapped’ and for the reinstalment of Cambridge exams throughout the region.
“People have said, 'Enough is enough.' Fifty years after CXC, they want a new organisation, they want to go back to Cambridge. Parents that can afford it, have left the public school sector and they’ve gone private to other exam bodies,” she said.
Moore continued her call for there to be an independent review of the examining body as well as a panel to ensure CXC follows global best practices for administering exams.
But she adds that this can’t happen if CARICOM governments do not intervene and allow CXC to have ‘diplomatic immunity.’
“I personally, as a proud CARICOM citizen would like our indigenous body to remain and do better. But it seems as if they are unwilling or perhaps unable to change course, admit there is a problem and fix the problem.”