Thursday, December 6, was a history-making event in Anguilla. It was the ceremonial opening of the 44th Governance Meetings of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the first of its kind held on the island. The joint occasion, which included the presentation of awards to top CSEC and CAPE regional students, was held at the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium. It was heralded by the bearing of flags of the member territories by Pathfinders.
The formal gathering included Acting Governor, Stanley Reid, other members of the Executive Council, members of the House of Assembly and various other public and private officials and representatives.
The feature address was delivered by Minister of Social Development and Education, Edison Baird. He described the University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Examinations Council as “regional icons and shining examples of how an integrated approach to meeting common regional needs can be successful.” He saw CXC as providing the benchmark for successful completion of secondary education in the region. “The fact that there is a commonality of testing for secondary students across the region means that CXC is a unifying institution which facilitates the CARICOM objective of free movement of people within our space.”
Mr. Baird went on: “CXC’s commitment to the intellectual advancement of Caribbean people is demonstrated in real terms by this award ceremony in which students from around our region are recognised and rewarded for their exceptional performance in the CSEC and CAPE examinations…Your accomplishments are not only personal for you and your parents, but regional accomplishments. In you, the region is assured that with this effort, perseverance and remarkable intellectual capacity of our people, the future of our Caribbean is secure.”
The Anguilla Minister of Education, who noted that there was still a greater need for more regional students to achieve better examination results, said he had no doubt that the majority of children had the capacity to excel. He was also of the opinion that there was a need to steer a new course for regional education.
“If we view education as a tool for the advancement of Caribbean people, then we must agree that our education systems and our attitudes towards education need a major overhaul,” he stressed. “We need to change course. We cannot continue to take the same old road and fix the potholes as they appear. We need a brand new highway…Our education systems must embrace all children, value and celebrate their talents and individuality and strive to meet their needs without attaching labels based on traditional perceptions of intellectual capacity.”
Mr. Baird suggested that there was a demand for Governments to “construct an overall plan for educational development in the region.” He also called for a fashioning of “our education systems in order for us to realise the goal of the CARICOM ideal person” and observed that work already begun in that area.
He went on: “The bottom line is that Governments must collectively have a plan and stick to it. We cannot look to CXC or any other entity to fix our education systems. They can partner with us and help us to come up with viable solutions, or offer services that will complement our efforts, but education reform lies at the doorstep of regional Governments. We cannot step around it and pretend it is somebody else’s problem.”
Dr. Didacus Jules, Registrar of CXC, said that during the year the Council had gained greater international recognition of its certification and strengthened its articulation agreements with universities in the United States.
“The Association of Indian Universities formally accepted the CSEC and CAPE qualification for entry into universities on that sub-continent,” he explained. “The Illinois Institute of Technology is offering 45 partial Presidential Scholarships to top CAPE students from across the region.”
Dr. Jules noted that while the achievements of the regional awardees were being celebrated, it was also necessary to reflect deeply on the state of education in the Caribbean. “Even while we acclaim the high achievers, we must also take some time to consider those who have not been as successful – and those who have not even been given the opportunity to succeed. Yesterday, competiveness was measured by the cream of the crop; tomorrow, it will be measured by the calibre of the cohort.”
Mr. Baird, Anguilla’s Minister of Education, and Permanent Secretary, Mrs.Chanelle Petty Barrett, who is also CXC’s Deputy Chairperson, joined CXC officials and other visiting education personnel in presenting awards to the top students.
The examination results showed that students from Guyana continued to dominate the Regional Top Awards for outstanding performance in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC). On the other hand, students from Trinidad and Tobago continued their dominance of awards for outstanding performance at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).
Four of the eight awards in the CSEC went to students from Guyana, while eight awards were won by the Trinidad and Tobago students. Other top performing students were from Barbados and Jamaica.
