BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC)— The Barbados-based Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Tuesday said it would be re-examining its qualification framework to establish a progressive assessment, certification system aimed at minimising the number of students leaving the secondary school system without certification.

Addressing the virtual inaugural Ministerial Summit on Educational Assessment, virtually, CXC Registrar and chief executive officer, Dr Wayne Wesley, said that CXC has begun to deliberate in the re-design of the award of certification framework.

 “The re-imagined structure for the CXC awards will see the development of a new qualification currently being conceptualised as the Caribbean Technical Education Certificate (C-TECH)

“C-TECH will be a broad-based qualification geared towards character development, technical and applied competencies for employment, entrepreneurship and good citizenry; in other words a sense of regional pride,” he said.

Wesley said the C-TECH would represent the minimum competencies for an individual to perform in society while providing opportunities for students to continue to pursue the Caribbean Secondary Education (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) at an appropriate time of readiness.

“This we believe will create alternative pathways for all candidates as we seek to promote equity within all qualifications issued by CXC, ensuring that value and priority of esteem are placed on all qualifications.”

Wesley said that while the phrase building back stronger has become popular in light of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on Caribbean societies, “however it is more than just building back stronger.

“It is also building back sustainably. To build back stronger suggests rebuilding the same structures and systems that failed to cope with the challenges of the global pandemic. Therefore the approach to the rebuilding effort is to build back sustainably through innovative transformation”.

He said this connotes a rebuilding effort geared towards resilience, operational flexibility, governance integrity and accountability, “the aim of which is to have universal access and universal quality.

“It is envisaged that the outcomes form this very important ministerial summit will help to advance and direct the way forward as we responsibly reshape the human capital of the region,” the CXC Registrar added.

The summit is being held under the theme “Facilitating Transformation Through Assessment” and is engaging education policymakers, from across the region, in high-level dialogue.

CXC said the agenda will include roundtable discussions where participants will explore the curriculum policy in various territories, with particular emphasis on new topical areas for learning, approaches in teaching and strategies for assessment.

Regional education ministers are expected to share their perspectives and national experiences during the three roundtable discussions scheduled for the summit.

“These discussions around critical education transformation issues which affect the region’s education system, will play a critical role in the development of CXC and the region,” the CXC added.