Seismic CXC shift

THE CARIBBEAN Examination Council's (CXC) April 15 announcement of a new addition to its suite of qualifications – to be called the Caribbean Targeted Education Certificate or CTEC – is a milestone in education.

For the first time, students will face assessment at their own pace, with three tracks: accelerated, general and individualised.

Currently, school-based assessments account for a proportion of overall scores in some areas. But the lion’s share of marks is still earned in high-pressure examinations. In future, students will be given flexibility to leave school at a time that best fits their circumstances, without a lowering of standards.

This is a seismic shift.

This week’s announcement of the facilitation of all examinations online, beginning in 2026, is also a major step forward. Students will use entirely electronic platforms or hybrid formats. Paper-based examinations will be available in May-June sessions alongside e-assessment.

The boldness of CXC’s transformative regional plans is in stark contrast to the local discussion on education ahead of the April 28 general election.

The UNC has been promising to distribute more laptops, while the PNM has highlighted a wish to change curriculums. Both ideas are one-dimensional.

The first, without controls, would worsen the harm caused by device overuse. The second would modify hoped-for learning outcomes without addressing student disparities. On April 16, the parties finally fleshed out what they might do in greater detail through long-awaited manifestos.

The UNC is further promising to re-introduce continuous assessment at primary schools, ensure universal screening under re-engineered support divisions, reform the Teaching Service Commission and amend the Education Act.

The PNM also wishes to raise the cap on schoolbook grants to 30,000 children, remove VAT from uniforms, expand after-school programmes and introduce mental wellness assessments while catering to diverse needs.

These patchwork promises are great on paper, but it is unclear whether they will profoundly shift education standards. And because they come mere days before the poll, it is hard to glean how seriously these promises should be taken.

For decades, and especially since covid, there has been rising concern about child development.

Meanwhile, public education spending has fluctuated wildly, sometimes $10 billion, sometimes $6 billion, sometimes $8 billion. No party has said if it would ring-fence expenditure, clarified timelines or detailed private funding mechanisms.

CXC’s move is audacious.

It is a promising response to a clear problem of increased student underachievement. Over the years, the gap between male and female performance has distracted from the trend of fewer students sitting examinations and enrolling at university. The party manifestos released this week provide hopeful glimmers.

But it is CXC registrar Wayne Wesley who is leading the way in doing what must be done for students. Our leaders should do well to take a page out of his and CXC's book.