KINGSTON, Jamaica — People’s National Party (PNP) spokesman on education, Peter Bunting, has put forward a plan that will allow Jamaican students to sit their Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) examinations in July.

In a statement this afternoon, Bunting said the Government should not equivocate about the matter.

“The Caribbean Examinations Council has made its position clear – it is moving forward with the hosting of CSEC and CAPE exams (digital or paper-based) in July of this year, as was determined at the CARICOM COHSOD [Council for Human and Social Development] meeting which included Jamaica’s participation,” he said.

“The Government of Jamaica, through Karl Samuda, has declared that Jamaica does not endorse that position due to the impact of COVID-19 on the education sector, but has provided no alternative solution. The Jamaican cohort of students (and their parents and teachers) who had expected to sit CSEC and CAPE exams this year are now left to grapple with an uncertain future,” the Opposition spokesman added.

He said the PNP objects to what it calls “the cavalier and irresponsible approach that the Government is taking to these important exams which are critical to determining the career prospects for school leavers”.

“We believe that students who are willing and prepared to sit the CAPE and CSEC examinations in July 2020 must be allowed to do so,” he added.

Bunting proposed, subject to Ministry of Health guidelines, that:

• From June 1, until the beginning of CSEC Exams in July, grades 11 to 13 students be able to attend supplemental classes (covering intensive refresher material) at their schools. This may be combined with improved digital access and training where possible and appropriate.

• Students who are unable to take, or even those who do not do well in the July sitting should be allowed to sit/re-sit respectively, in January 2021 at no additional cost, given the exceptional circumstances.

The spokesman said he believes the proposal gives this student cohort an opportunity to move forward with minimal delays and interruptions and gives students the best chance of passing the exams in July.

He added that if the students fail, the proposal gives them the option of a second chance, by way of a re-sit in January 2021 at no additional cost and finally does not reduce the country’s standards.

Bunting noted that CSEC/CAPE II students should not have been greatly disadvantaged by the March 13 school closure as the teaching component of the CSEC/CAPE II curriculum was substantially completed and students would have been dismissed from schools around that time for study leave or community projects.

“We must do our best to prepare our children to persevere through challenges, and to mitigate the impact of disasters. To allow CSEC students from other islands, and other nations generally, to move ahead along their productive journey, and disadvantage our own students is unforgiveable. The repercussions of such a visionless approach would have a long term negative impact on this cohort’s career prospects,” he said.