TT not ready for CXC online

THERE will be no Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) online testing in TT in 2020. At a news conference at his ministry’s office in Port of Spain yesterday, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said, “Cabinet has decided to inform CXC our schools will not be ready for e-testing in 2020.” Garcia explained that Government did not want “to subject our students to e-testing” when neither students nor teachers are properly prepared. “We want to make sure that everything is in place.”

In the meantime, Garcia said efforts are being made to ensure that TT will be able to do CXC online testing in 2021. Ministry official Gerard Philip said part of those efforts included increasing internet connectivity and bandwidth to schools. Philip said 735 teachers have been trained in information communication technology. These teachers came from 77 schools in Trinidad and seven in Tobago. A graduation ceremony for these teachers takes place at Naparima College auditorium in San Fernando at 9.15 am today.

Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan said CXC is still to make a decision about an incident in which students supposedly used their cell phones to send questions on an exam paper to each other via WhatsApp. He said it is possible that if sanctions are applied for this year, the students could write the exam next year. Seecharan added it was possible for students to be banned from writing CXC for many years.