Denbigh High students to get CSEC literature grades
Published:Friday | September 2, 2016 | 12:00 AMJovan Johnson
Twenty-seven students of Denbigh High in Clarendon, whose Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) English literature exam scripts went missing, are expected to get their grades early next week.
Dr Maurice Smith, permanent secretary in the education ministry, told The Gleaner yesterday that the update was provided by Glenroy Cumberbatch, registrar at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), during a meeting yesterday.
"The grades for the students from Denbigh will be released and they will come with the preliminary slips that are being shipped to Jamaica," he said.
He could not say whether the students would be able to access the grades online while they await the slips.
When asked, however, for the explanation given by the registrar as to why the scripts could not be found, Smith said: "Out of respect for our discussions today (yesterday), I will not be able to answer."
FORMAL REPORT
Smith said the public would get an explanation when a formal report has been submitted to the ministry.
The Gleaner reported on Thursday that the 27 students received ungraded results on August 16, with a note from the CXC that their scripts and scores were not received.
However, Kasan Troupe, who was principal up to August 31, said the school had its receipts showing that the scripts of all 55 students who did the exam on May 17 were submitted to the exam body.
"The day (August 16) when the results were released, that's when we noticed that the children were ungraded, and my exam coordinator checked to see who the children were, and we noticed the alphabetical order (M-W all had ungraded results)," said Troupe, who is now director of region one in the Ministry of Education.
"It simply means that a package may be missing or a package may be unmarked at CXC. We have the receipts that show they had collected the scripts from us."
Meanwhile, Smith said everything remains on track for the 40 students of Penwood High in St Andrew to receive their grades in six CSEC subjects "early" this month.
The Gleaner understands the results will be available late next week.
The students did not get their grades as their school-based assessments were not submitted by the July 31 deadline.
The issue was brought to the fore by a Gleaner report that prompted the education ministry's intervention and a subsequent successful appeal to the CXC.
Education Minister Ruel Reid has announced a computer system would be implemented to monitor CXC deadlines and schools' compliance as well as a review of protocols involving the Overseas Examinations Commission.