TTUTA remains hopeful for CXC exams in Sept

The TT Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) continues to hope for meaningful discussion with the Ministry of Education and stakeholders towards moving the CSEC and CAPE examinations to September, rather than in July as is being proposed by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).

President Antonia De Freitas told Newsday there were three main reasons for this decision taken by the association’s general council.

The first was to allow for proper protocol and sanitisation measures to be put in place for the students who would be taking the examinations, including access to soap and water and appropriate physical distancing measures.

The second reason was that the council felt there should be time for students and teachers to interact face-to-face before going straight into the examinations, not just for preparedness but for emotional and mental support.

De Freitas said the association also understood that some students would not have been able to complete their school-based assessments (SBAs), not because the teachers were tardy or the students delinquent, but because of the sudden shutdown of schools in March. She expressed concern, especially, for students sitting the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) examinations as their practical component would require them to work in industries to pass their subjects, and she has heard of no provisions being made for these candidates. CVQ certifications include agro-food processing, building construction drafting, commercial food preparation, electrical installation, light metal fabrication, small appliance repairs and wastewater process plant operations, to name a few. Subjects which include practical examinations under CXC, such as chemistry, biology, physics, information technology, physical education and sport, technical drawing and visual arts, would also be affected negatively.

She said the also association has grave concerns about the intention of CXC to use the multiple-choice examinations and the SBAs to assign a grade to students, as students who had not finished their SBAs would be placed at a disadvantage.

“We are looking at an issue of equity for all students to have a fair chance. We realise there is a lot of stress and concern, but at the end of the day, we need to ensure that we do not have a generation of students who because of the covid19 virus have lost out of having a fair chance to quality education and to success at the examination.”

In Parliament last month, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said Government did not endorse the multiple choice, SBA-format and preferred the standard exams. He said they would consider holding the exams in June/July but a final decision is still to be announced.