Dominican PM calls for structural change at CXC

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, has called for a “structural change” at the Barbados-based Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) as part of the reform of the education system that is urgently required in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

“This is about us and about the future of our children and the future of our society. We have to equip our children with what they need today to lead this very difficult world,” Skerrit told the 1Oth meeting of the Council of Education Ministers of the OECS , which ends in Dominica later on Friday.

“Our system cannot be seen to be pre-occupied with only with preparing students for examination and if you ask me, I think there has to be a serious structural change at the CXC. By simply adding subjects to be taken at examination level at the CXC is not a positive movement,” Skerrit said.

The CXC was established in 1972 under agreement by the participating governments in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and according to its website, assures the global human resource competitiveness of the Caribbean through the provision of syllabuses of the highest quality; valid and reliable examinations and certificates of international repute for students of all ages, abilities and interests; services to educational institutions in the development of syllabuses, examinations and examinations’ administration, in the most cost-effective way.

CXC comprises 16 participating countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The first examinations for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate® (CSEC) were offered in 1979 in five subjects. Subsequent to CSEC, CXC has introduced a comprehensive suite of qualifications to meet the needs of the region, including the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment(CPEA), Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC), Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ), Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and the CXC Associate Degree (CXC-AD).

Skerrit told the ministers from the sub-regional grouping that they had to put education reform high on their agenda reiterating that reform of the education system is needed urgently, for the children of the sub grouping to prepare for the challenging period ahead.

“You are fortunate as ministers to have the opportunity now to be the leaders in the transformation and reform that we need in this Caribbean today. This is a global imperative, this is a regional emergency that we have to dramatically address the structural and systemic challenges of education.

“Yes, we have addressed access to education, yes we are addressing the issue of inclusivity, yes we have addressed to a large extent the issue of teacher training, but there must be a paradigm shift”.

Skerrit, who once served as minister of education, said there must be a paradigm shift “or else the society will reap what we sowing in the education system."

The meeting in Dominica is advancing the goals outlined in the OECS Education Sector Strategy (OESS) 2012–2026 that was developed in response to the unique needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and allowing for OESS to provide a roadmap for harmonised and impactful education reform across member states of the sub-regional grouping.

The meeting is also facilitating robust dialogue and knowledge exchange on shared priorities, including inclusive education, quality learning outcomes, and system-wide reform”.

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