Blog

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has announced that it will not proceed with the suspension of four examination subjects following a wave of public concern and discussions with regional education ministers. The subjects initially considered for suspension were Agricultural Science (Double Award), Mechanical Engineering Technology (CSEC), Green Engineering, and Electrical and Electronic Engineering (CAPE).

This announcement comes from CXC Registrar/CEO, Dr. Wayne Wesley, during a press conference held on Tuesday. The CEO said that the council has rolled out a menu of new generation technology and science programs, and while some are not yet at the desired demand, governments and the council will partner to build demand for the newly added programs.

Several newly introduced programs include Entrepreneurship, Performing Arts, Physical Education and Sport, Tourism, Animation and Game Design, Logistics and Supply Chain Operations, Digital Media and Financial Services.

“Accordingly, today’s deliberations with the Ministers of Education reinforce the need for a collective regional marketing thrust to promote the priority subject areas in STEM education and climate smart agriculture which are considered critical for the economic growth and sustainable development of the region”, the CEO added.

In response to the premature release of correspondence regarding the potential suspension, CXC issued a statement addressing the anxieties expressed by stakeholders. The council emphasized its commitment to making decisions that serve the best interests of students and educators across the Caribbean.

Last week, Guyana’s Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, expressed strong opposition to the Caribbean Examinations Council’s (CXC) unofficial decision to remove several technical and vocational subjects from its syllabus.

Minister Manickchand emphasized that Guyana’s government does not support the removal of these subjects, as they are crucial for the country’s rapid growth, particularly in the oil, gas, and agriculture sectors. She highlighted that sustainable food investments and skills development are vital for the nation’s future, and dropping these subjects would negatively impact students’ opportunities and the local economy.

The minister reiterated that Guyana would make its objections clear at the upcoming stakeholders’ meeting with CXC, scheduled for June 4, to ensure the continuation of these subjects. She also noted that if the subjects were removed, students taking the 2024 and 2025 examinations would be affected.

The decision to revisit the potential suspension came after a meeting with Ministers of Education from the 16 participating countries, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands. During this meeting, strong objections were raised, particularly by Guyana’s Education Minister Priya Manickchand, who highlighted the critical importance of these subjects to the rapid growth in sectors such as oil and agriculture in Guyana.

Manickchand pointed to the examining body’s mandate to owl in the best interest of the children they serve and, in the region, as a whole. She pointed out that heads of government of countries in the region are constantly speaking locally and internationally of sustainable growth and being food secure and self-sustaining. She referenced the investments of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in the region in countries like Guyana where 6 new Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions are being established and says the decision was tone deaf to all of these realities. Minister Manickchand made it clear that were CXC to discontinue these subjects, her country would be forced to find other bodies who could test and certify the subjects. Other ministers of education also expressed strong reservations against the decision

The CEO closed by stating that CXC is deeply committed to the educational and human capital development of the region and will work in partnership with all of its stakeholders to achieve its vision to advance the fortunes of the region.

[Ministry of Education Press Release]

The Mayor and City Council’s 2024 budget should be presented on Wednesday but there are mounting concerns about the spending plan for Georgetown and funds spent in the years before.

Alfonso De Armas, a People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) councillor, is among those raising serious concerns about the management of the city’s finances.

“The biggest concern we have is that we don’t know what’s going on.

“Council is supposed to provide an account of how the money was managed last year by March 31 but nothing has been seen,” De Armas told the News Room on Monday, when the budget was initially slated to be presented.

Furthermore, he opined that the budget would not “capture the vision of the City Council” since consultations with residents in each of the constituencies were not done. According to him, the City’s budget should also take into account the specific needs of each constituency be it drainage works or improved garbage collection services.

“I think it is a travesty,” De Armas lamented.

This isn’t the first instance concerns have been raised by PPP/C councillors.

Last year, soon after his election, PPP/ C Councillor Don Singh highlighted that the City Council was cash-strapped and needed an urgent injection of finances to run the city for the rest of the year. He, however, pointed out that there has been no audit of City Hall finances in over a decade. As such, there are no records of how monies were spent over the years.

Singh is the sole PPP/C Councillor on the Council’s Finance Committee. That Committee is chaired by Lelon Saul of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). Other members include Tahirih Adams, Troy Garraway, Clayton Hinds and Yvonne Ferguson – all of the APNU.

De Armas emphasised that a budget, statutorily, is needed to run the affairs of the City. But the question he asks is whether the budget to be presented will be responsive to the needs of Georgetown residents.

“The City needs a budget but as to whether the figures in that budget reflect any sort of reality, no, I don’t think it will,” the councillor said.