Williams hopeful of further CXC changes

Minister of Education Fayval Williams remains hopeful that the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) will yield to requests to make further adjustments to the exam structure for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

"I am sure that some accommodations will be made," said Williams, noting that the requests were similar across the region. 

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) took the lead in lobbying for the postponement of the examinations in tandem with other recommendations put forward by the Caribbean Union of Teachers and Ministries of Education across the region to ensure that students are not further disadvantaged. 

The requests included a breakdown of the questions for Paper One and a two-week delay in the exams as well as pushing back the deadline for the school-based assessment (SBA) component to June 30, given that the syllabi were not completed. 

Optional questions were also requested. 

"When I spoke to our technical persons there is a lot of agreement and support for those positions so we wait," she said. 

Williams added that CXC is "simply the technical body setting the exam”, and if it aims to be transparent and efficient, it will take due consideration and be receptive and responsive to the feedback given.

CXC will be hosting a press conference about midday today to inform the region of the decisions coming out of yesterday's deliberation.

- Jonielle Daley

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