Guyana objected to new exam structure of CSEC, CAPE and will use paper method

Chief Education Officer Ingrid Trotman on Friday said Guyana objected to the new structure for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) exams scheduled for July- August.

Three other CARICOM countries also objected to the new structure of the exams, but a majority of countries, 11 in total, voted for the new structure.

Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Wayne Wesley explained that the exams will be done via the E-testing modality for schools that have access to the internet and technology.

In Guyana, a majority of communities, especially those in the hinterland, do not have access to the internet and as such Guyana will be doing the exams via the paper modality.

“Guyana has opted to the paper based modality for this year so our students will be doing the normal exams,” Superintendent of Exams Sauda Kadir said.

A total of 11, 998 students are registered to write the CSEC exams in Guyana and 852 are registered to write CAPE.

Ms Kadir said CXC has not sent the individual timetables for the students but assured once the timetables are here it will be distributed to the students.

Approval was granted by CARICOM’s Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) for the exams to be held in July/August and the results will be made available by the first week in September 2020.

The exams are held annually in May/June but have been pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The School Based Assessment (SBA), Paper One and where applicable Papers Two and Three, along with any additional assessment, will be used to assess the students and determine their final grade. This was administered to preserve the integrity of the exams.