The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) is not in favour of the Caribbean Examinations Council’s proposed Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination strategy, according to its General Secretary Coretta McDonald.
“We, the GTU object to this proposal,” McDonald told Stabroek News during a telephone interview. “The GTU has decided that we are not accepting that proposal. We are not agreeing with that proposal.”
To minimise the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, CXC has proposed what it called “a modified examination process” that would see the determination of final grades based on the moderated School Based Assessments (SBAs) and multiple choice papers (Paper Ones) for most subjects.
McDonald said if the proposed adjustment were to be used, the better option would be to use Paper Two rather than Paper One. “The whole exam is not going to be that credible… If you are just going to use Paper One and have the score for the SBAs recorded… It’s not going to have much weight,” she said.
She noted that during a meeting held by CXC, three options were given and collectively the various representatives from Caribbean countries took the position that the best option would be to postpone the examinations until a later time in the year, although a final decision was not taken.
According to her, if the examination is deferred until later in the year as was suggested, the students will be better prepared and still sit the examinations in their intended form. “The rescheduling of the exam should not affect the preparedness of the students given that the syllabus would have already started before the COVID-19 outbreak. But that it would give them more time to prepare, for those who feel as though they are not quite ready.” she said. She also reminded that many parents have already spent huge sums of moneys for their children to sit the examinations and therefore they should be given the opportunity to do so.
When contacted for comment on the proposal, Education Minister Nicolette Henry said that the Council is a regional body which has the administrative responsibility for making the decision and that she would make no further comments regarding the proposed adjustments for the examinations.
Her predecessor under the former PPP/C administration, Priya Manickchand, was not as guarded as she said that while the examination strategy is still being evaluated, she, like many others, finds it questionable. “They [CXC] say they are still evaluating but I would say that this [strategy] is a little questionable. I would’ve said don’t write anything.”
According to Manickchand, she thinks the best option is to wait.
Additionally, she said that in light of the pandemic, it is understandable that many persons are afraid to leave the safety of their homes, while it is also felt that there is a need to ensure those marking the exams are also safe and comfortable. “It is not just people congregating to write the exam. People who have to write these exams feel like they have to go out and get some studying done and that’s a dangerous thing. People also have to come together to mark it,” she explained, “That’s why they are using the Paper One, because it is easier to mark online.”
Meanwhile, some students are also concerned about the CXC proposal. “I think that it would be a disadvantage to us because with Paper One, it’s either you’re right or wrong but with Paper Two, you will have a chance to explain and if you don’t get the entire question right you could pull some marks. On the upside, we will have time to do more work and study more and I understand why this has to be done,” Jenika Thompson, who is preparing to sit the CSEC exams, said.
“The Paper Two shows how much a student knows on his or her own. Therefore, it should be necessary to grant the students a chance to prove their skills,” another concerned Fifth Form student, Githanjalie Prabudial of Leonora Secondary, added.
Brina Rai, who is also preparing to sit the CSEC examinations, said that she believes the proposal was “weak” and that it would inhibit students from getting an opportunity to express themselves in an application question. She further noted that she thinks students will also be limited from attaining marks in the Paper One, while adding that the changes would only be beneficial to the markers rather than students sitting the examinations.
