ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, May 25th, 2012 – The Territory will have the opportunity to weigh the benefits of having the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) become the mandatory benchmark secondary examination during a series of public consultations with CXC officials to be held next week.
Dr. Didacus Jules, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of CXC accompanied by other CXC officials will hold wide spread consultations with principals, education officials, teachers and other stakeholders on the importance of CXC from May 29 to 31.
During his visit Dr. Jules will pay courtesy calls to the Deputy Premier, Dr. the Honourable Kedrick Pickering, Minister for Education and Culture Honourable Myron V. Walwyn. Additionally, he will speak with third and fourth form students in the Territory’s public and private schools.
He is also scheduled to meet with Dr. Karl Dawson, President of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, Ms. Germain Scatliffe, Education Consultant for the Technical and Vocational Programme, students and teachers in the Virgin Gorda community and Opposition Members in the House of Assembly.
The public is invited to discourse with the CXC officials on Wednesday, May 30 at a public meeting at the Sir Rupert Briefcliffe Hall at 7pm. Virgin Gorda residents are invited to a public meeting on Thursday, May 31 at the Catholic Community Centre at 7pm.
Minister Walwyn endorses the public consultations and encourages members of the community to become involved in the discussions.
“This is the time for the public to raise their concerns as we explore the possibility of having CXC used as the secondary school leaving assessment. It is a measure that has been intertwined in our education sector for many years and we are exploring the possibility of it becoming the benchmark secondary examination.”
In remarks to senior ministry officials during their 2012 Planning Day with similar sentiments echoed at a meeting with public school teachers ahead of the 2012 Trinity School term, Minister Walwyn spoke of CXC as “adding a layer of credibility to the education system.”
He said, “Many of our students move on to colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and United States. Within recent years, those institutions have been requesting from students instead of our high school certificate, their CXC results for admission. The Caribbean Examination Council has improved their outreach to these colleges and universities and is now identified as the premier secondary school certification in the Caribbean.”
“We need to explore using CXC as the benchmark for awarding our secondary school certificates. I have heard many arguments for and against this. There is a level of uncertainty that comes naturally with new concepts. However, I have seen the work of our teachers and our students and I believe we need to have more confidence in our abilities and the academic performance of our students.”
As stated on their website, CXC has a history of being the number one provider of examination solutions for the Caribbean region for over 30 years. The Virgin Islands has been a member of the CXC since its inception and has always sat as a member of the CXC council.
The Ministry of Education and Culture supports the building of the Territory’s students with academic capabilities to excel locally, regionally and internationally.
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