In 1972, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) was established under agreement by the Caribbean Community (Caricom). The entity was tasked with conducting and regulating examinations as it deemed appropriate, and awarding certificates and diplomas on the results of such examinations. In 1979, CXC introduced its first set of examinations, the Caribbean Secondary School Education Certifi-cate (CSEC) – commonly referred to as the ‘CXC’ – which replaced the Ordinary Levels (O – Levels) examinations which were offered by English boards. In 1998, the council introduced the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examina-tion (CAPE), which replaced the Advance Levels (A – Level) tests, generally intended for qualification for entry to tertiary education.
Today, the CXC provides educational certification for 16 English-speaking Caribbean Commonwealth territories, and the announcement of the results of the May/June examinations has become a highly anticipated ritual. Over the years, there have been a few delays and the inevitable hiccups that come with programmes of this nature. Most notably there was the fiasco of the results of the 2020 exams which were released in late September, after the exams had been conducted in July/August due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The grades released by the CXC were met with much dissatisfaction as a result of the poor grading, or, in some instances, ‘ungraded’, causing education ministries across the region to raise concerns, whilst CXC insisted that the results reflected the students’ performance at the exams. Two days after the release Guyana’s Minister of Education Priya Manickchand challenged the CXC over the discrepancies of the grades which were awarded to students across the country in particular subject areas. Following this intervention, the CXC reviewed the ‘ungraded results’ and grades were assigned.
This year’s results were announced last week Monday with the usual fanfare, and the most outstanding students were highlighted in the media as per tradition. The subsequent analysis of the results presented by the Ministry of Education (MoE) at their press conference revealed, most notably, the continuing decline in percentage passes of English and Mathematics, the two pillars of a solid education, and plans to tackle this worrisome descent. This critical area of concern is not unique to Guyana, but one which the entire Caribbean region is being confronted with. According to figures released by the Caribbean examination body only 4.9 percent of students – out of the near 200,000 annual candidates – achieved passes in five or more subjects, including Mathematics and English. The former subject continues to be the albatross around students’ necks with only 36 percent managing to pass the CSEC Mathematics exam, which has seen pass rates fluctuating between 34 and 43 percent from 2021 to 2023.
In Barbados, Paula-Anne Moore, coordinator and spokesperson of the Group of Concerned Parents, Barbados, and the Caribbean Coalition for Exam Redress, in an interview with the media outlet Barbados Today, following the release of this year’s results, voiced her concerns about the disturbing state of affairs. “The cumulative effects of years of such results are deeply concerning, especially given the well-established links between educational outcomes and negative societal impacts such as crime,” Moore noted. The education activist questioned whether the CXC had adjusted its grading to account for the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic as other international examination bodies had done, and the lack of a remedial plan from Caricom governments to address these persistent issues. Moore also highlighted the reliance on the private lessons “industry” to gain CXC exam success, a development which “locks out the majority.”
“This is unconscionable and is indicative that something must be systemic wrong with the syllabi or the school environment,” Moore added. The spokesperson further noted that too many children were graduating from primary and secondary schools within the Caribbean education ecosystem without the remedial help they required. Moore declared that there was an urgent need for comprehensive educational reform across the region.
The CSEC results act as a barometer of our society, and current results clearly suggest that we are sitting on the tip of an educational crisis. It is a situation which spawns a host of questions, ranging from how effective Caricom really is, to how to revert this continuing decline in educational standards and its accompanying repercussions. Every day we are confronted with appalling standards of basic conduct – the lack of proper disposal of garbage and observance of the Highway Code, for instance – which continue unchecked, as the social erosion accelerates.
Pinpointing the sources of this breakdown in standards in Caribbean society in the 50-odd years in which most of the region gained independence is not a simple task, and would require detailed studies. Mitigating factors such as the various economic crises suffered by the region, migration, quality of teachers, absenteeism, and the quality of leadership have no doubt contributed to the existing situation. A forensic examination of the evolution of the ‘private lessons’ cottage industry might provide some surprising answers.
Whilst announcing plans to strive for improved performance levels Minister Manickchand revealed the hire of a professional to focus specifically in the areas of English A, English B and Mathematics, along with rigorous independent monitoring, increased school visits, direct classroom observations, and enhanced support for teachers. However, the answers do not lie in each territory going it alone. It is necessary for the CXC, and by extension Caricom, to provide a holistic response.
