Regional teachers want CXC exams pushed back by three weeks

 

Teachers in Jamaica and the Caribbean are upset following the release of this year's timetable for the sitting of tests administered by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).

 

CXC has outlined that the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) will begin on May 2.

 

But the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) wants the tests pushed back by at least three weeks.

 

CUT President Dr. Garth Anderson argued that given the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it cannot be business as usual. 

 

"CXC seems to think that normality has returned to the region and to the lives of our students and other citizens. The reality on the ground [is that] this is not so. Several of our schools are still struggling to reopen, still trying to treat with the learning deficit that would have been created with two years of students on online teaching and education, which we all know has several challenges," he asserted. 

 

Dr. Anderson added that teachers are finding it difficult to get students to "socially adjust to the discipline of school and teaching and learning".  

 

He said the CUT would like some of the concessions made by CXC last year to once again be instituted.

 

Apart from delaying the exams by three weeks, he urged CXC to "see what adjustments can be made" with regards to school based assessments (SBAs), especially for practical subjects. 

 

In addition, Dr. Anderson called for the regional examinations body to provide teachers and students with at least the broad topics to be covered on the exams.  

 

He said the CUT has requested a meeting with the Council for Human and Social Development to examine further recommendations.