KINGSTON, Jamaica — Some secondary school students are returning to the classroom today in preparation for the sitting of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), scheduled to get under way on July 13.

At the Tivoli Gardens High School in Kingston, students were required to wash their hands before getting them sanitised upon entering the school compound. The furniture inside the classrooms at the institution have also be spaced in accordance with physical distancing guidelines established by the Government.

It is expected that similar measures have been put in place at other schools across the island as part of measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which prompted the islandwide closure of educational institutions in March.

The CSEC examinations and CAPE, which were originally slated to start on July 27, have been brought forward following consultations with regional and local educational stakeholders and the leadership of the Overseas Examinations Commission.

The CSEC and CAPE refresher programme for students will come to an end on July 3.

Minister with oversight for Education, Youth and Information, Karl Samuda, gave details at a digital press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Andrew, on May 31.

Some 58,720 students have registered to take the CSEC examinations and 16,184 are registered to sit the CAPE.

CAPE will end on July 31, while CSEC examinations will end by August 4.

Samuda said the results should be published in late September. The exams will be done through two methods – via the Internet and paper-based.

Additionally, he noted that students with special needs and underlying conditions that would make them more susceptible to the coronavirus (COVID-19) “are not required to come to school at this time”.

He added that teachers with underlying conditions will not be required to present at school until further notice.