Extra Paper Will Be Available for CXC Candidates

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says that candidates sitting this year’s Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) tests will be provided with extra paper, should they need them.

There has been public concern following an announcement by the regional examination body that it would cease providing extra answer sheets to students sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

Speaking at Tuesday’s (March 22) post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kingston, Senator Reid informed that the Education Ministry has contacted the CXC in a bid to allay the concerns.

“We have been in touch with CXC and we want to assure the public that CXC will be working to ensure that extra paper will be provided just in case students require the extra paper,” he said.

The new policy regarding extra answer booklets will reportedly make CXC’s electronic marking process easier as fewer papers will need to be scanned.

CXC was established in 1972 by an agreement among 15 English-speaking Commonwealth Caribbean countries and territories. It has its headquarters in Barbados.

CXC’s objectives are to: provide regionally and internationally recognised secondary school-leaving examinations relevant to the needs of the region; produce teaching materials and train teachers to use the CXC syllabi; and advise regional governments on education matters.