State Wards to Be Recognised for Achievement In CSEC, CAPE

Thirty-nine wards of the State will be recognised for achievement in the 2022 sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) at an awards ceremony on Thursday (January 26).

The function, hosted by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Youth, will take place at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston.

Thirty-four youth who have passed four or more subjects in CSEC and five who passed subjects at upper sixth in CAPE will each be presented with a plaque and gift basket, with the top male and female students within each educational region to receive cash, smartphones, smartwatches or laptops. The overall top male and female will also receive special recognition.

Speaking with JIS News during an interview, Chairperson for the Events Planning Committee and Director of Financial Management and Accounting Services at the CPFSA, Michelle McIntosh Harvey, said that “the objective of this awards ceremony is to encourage the students and recognise the work they have put in”.

She noted that over the years, several students have passed between one and up to 10 subjects at one exam sitting.

From this 2022 cohort, nine students received at least eight CSEC subjects at one sitting, while all five CAPE students, who will be recognised at the awards ceremony, passed more than four subjects, with one receiving six.

Mrs. McIntosh Harvey said this year represents the 12th staging of the agency’s Educational Achievement Awards Ceremony.

She noted that the event will feature testimonials from persons who have passed through the system, “those who are making their mark in society, and this is to encourage and empower the awardees”.

Mrs. McIntosh Harvey said that the mandate of the CPFSA, which has guardianship for children in State care, is to equip them with the necessary tools to achieve their goals and transition into adulthood.

“We provide shelter and food, but one of the other things that we are mandated to do, and especially as part of the Ministry of Education and Youth, is to ensure that they get the best education possible that we can afford to give them,” she said.