Arising from a meeting yesterday with Ministers of Education from across the region, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) will continue to offer syllabuses for Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) Green Engineering, CAPE Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Agricultural Science (Double Award) and CSEC Industrial Technology – the Mechanical Engineering option, in keeping with its menu of new generation technology and science syllabuses.
At a press conference convened after the meeting, Dr Wayne Wesley, CXC Registrar and CEO, met with reporters to make the following announcements:
“The meeting with the Ministers of Education demonstrated our shared commitment to find a ‘critical path forward’ on this matter, given the pressing education and human capacity development imperatives facing the region.
The Ministers were forthright in their positions, pledging their support for CXC, and for more direct lines of communications with the CXC. I therefore want to announce our agreed positions emerging from the meeting as follows:
1. The Caribbean Examinations Council will continue to offer syllabuses for CAPE Green Engineering, CAPE Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology, CSEC Agricultural Science (Double Award) and CSEC Industrial Technology – the Mechanical Engineering option.
2. CXC has rolled out a menu of new generation technology and science syllabuses. Some are not yet in desired demand. Governments will work with CXC in building demand for these new programs to enable their cost viability.
3. Accordingly, today’s deliberations with the Ministers of Education reinforced the need for a collective regional Marketing thrust to promote the priority subject areas in Science-Technology-Engineering-Art-Mathematics (STEAM) education and climate-smart Agriculture, which are considered critical for the economic growth and sustainable development of the region.
4. CXC is committed to ensuring its communications protocols afford the Ministers of Education greater line of sight of high-level policy recommendations for decision making.
In closing, let me state for the record that the Caribbean Examinations Council is deeply committed to the Educational and Human Capital Development of the region, and we will work with all our stakeholders to achieve our vision to advance the fortunes of our region.”