BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - FOLLOWING investigations into the leakage of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Mathematics Paper Two, the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) has confirmed that it originated from an examination centre in Jamaica.
The Council held a hastily arranged media briefing where it explained the investigations and findings.
In a statement issued late yesterday (May 19) afternoon, CXC said it had been in constant contact with regional Ministries of Education since the information came to light.
“The security measures which CXC has put in place has led to us locating the country as Jamaica and the examination centre where the leak originated. In discussion with the Ministry of Education and Youth, the matter will be dealt with following CXC’s security protocols,” the statement read.
The integrity of the examination was thrown into question on Wednesday (May 17) after the Council found out about the leakage, with candidates from across the region raising concerns of whether they would have to resit the paper.
In its statement, the Council said: “CXC and regional Ministries of Education recognise that candidates have spent months preparing for their Mathematics Paper 02 examinations and the news of the security breach (leak) of the examination has caused much anxiety and concern. As a result of the breach and the compromise of the examination, as well as consideration for the mental health and wellbeing of our candidates, timely release of results, and matriculation requirements, CXC® has determined that for this examination the modified approach will be used to award fair and valid grades.”
The modified approach means that the assessment of:
i. the School Based Assessment or Paper 032 (Alternative to SBA) for private candidates;
ii. Paper 01 This decision was communicated to the regional Ministries of Education in our meeting this morning.
The body reassured candidates that the security of the regional examinations is “paramount, and their best interests continue to be at the centre of the organisation’s” decisions and processes.
This is not the first time that there have been breaches of the CXC examinations.
In 2005 the entire Mathematics examination was leaked with copies of the paper sold and distributed in parts of Guyana and online at prices ranging at the time from $20,000 to $50,000, and in 2008 there was another leak in Trinidad and Tobago of English A and Mathematics Papers 2.
