The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) last evening announced that the delayed examinations for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) students will be held in July.
In a statement, CARICOM said the decision emerged from the first emergency virtual meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) – Education on Friday.
Registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Dr Wayne Wesley made a presentation at the meeting where he explained that the administration of the modified examination process for the award of valid grades and preserving the integrity of the examinations involved the administration of Paper 1 (Multiple Choice Assessment), School Based Assessment, and where applicable, additional assessment components along with appropriate modelling accounting for historical data and teacher-predicted information.
He said while the proposed revised administration schedule for examinations is July 2020, with results to be released in the first week of September, there was need for a regional consensus considering the impact of COVID-19 and the respective national protocols.
The COHSOD also agreed to have examinations administered via an electronic-testing modality in countries that are equipped with the requisite infrastructure. However, where there were infrastructure challenges, candidates would be allowed to sit paper-based examinations.
Meanwhile, the statement said the CXC in collaboration with the University of the West Indies presented another proposal at the meeting in relation to requirements for CAPE applicants for 2020 admission. “Their proposal to accept CAPE Unit 1 plus previous results to serve as matriculation to UWI for the next academic year was accepted by the Council,” the statement said.
It further added that the Council adopted public health guidelines for the reopening of schools, as proposed in the report from Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Dr Joy St. John.
The report from CARPHA included initial guidance on the development of protocols for re-opening of schools in the response, recovery, and resilience phases of the crisis by the education sector. She also spoke to the need for mental health considerations during a public health crisis. “Dr St. John reminded the COHSOD of the complexities of the education system in Member States and the challenges for social distancing,” the statement noted.
Additionally, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago registered concerns regarding the decisions in relation to the date and modification of the CXC examinations, however the CXC indicated that further bilateral discussions in relation to special considerations could be explored. The Caribbean Union of Teachers also raised concerns regarding the health and safety of stakeholders, the statement added.
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Education from Antigua and Barbuda Michael Browne.
