Ramdeen urges MoE to do right by CXC students

Attorney at Law Gerald Ramdeen says he is in the process of drafting a letter to Minister of Education Nyan Gadsby-Dolly urging the ministry to take action against the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC).

In a phone interview with Newsday on Monday, Ramdeen said he was giving the ministry one last opportunity to do what, he said, it should have done months ago.

“I am hoping that good sense will prevail and that the ministry, who has the responsibility on behalf of the government to look after the wellbeing of the education of our children, will do the right thing.”

Protests erupted in September of last year when Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) students received what they believed to be unfair grades.

Most students have received their new results after demanding their scripts be remarked.

Ramdeen offered his services to parents’ pro bono after parents banded together to put pressure on the ministry to take legal action against the council.

“We have filed hundreds of freedom of information forms and the list (of parents coming forward) is increasing daily.”

He said it was obvious that students had been wronged and that students had been affected psychologically. He added the cost of pursuing the matter is going to be very substantial.

Ramdeen said he had hoped the Prime Minister, as the chairman Caricom, would have also made an attempt to rectify the situation.

“That has not transpired. So if we have to go to court we would be left with no option but to do that but we are hoping, in the interest of the students involved and future (CXC students), it does not (come to that).”

Explaining why he was targeting the Minstry of Education with his action as opposed to the regional examination council, Ramdeen said going after CXC directly might pose some challenges. He said, in this country, a statute enacted in 2006 insulated CXC from litigation to a certain extent.

He said the situation was different in other jurisdictions such as Barbados.

A pro bono class-action suit is being initiated against CXC over last year's grades by parents and students in Barbados.

Ramdeen said, “In Barbados, they can go straight to the CCJ in relation to a matter.”