Dear Editor,

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) assessments, particularly the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), serve as critical gateways for Jamaican youth seeking higher education and employment.

However, the persistent high failure rates in core subjects like mathematics, English, and the sciences have created a crisis, limiting opportunities for thousands of young Jamaicans. This reality has far-reaching consequences for youth employability, higher education access, and the country’s economic growth. CXC failures in Jamaica are not just an education issue, they are a national development crisis.

Dr Wayne Wesley, the registrar and CEO of CXC, presented data on the performance of Jamaican students in the CSEC examinations at the biennial Teachers Colleges of Jamaica research conference held earlier this year. He disclosed that in 2024, 19,000 students took five or more CSEC subjects; however, only 12,200 of them were able to achieve passes in five or more. The result suggests a substantial disparity in academic achievement.

A more thorough analysis reveals that only 14,604 of the 19,000 candidates submitted exam entries that included both mathematics and English, and only 6,351 achieved both subjects. These statistics underscore critical deficits in core subject mastery. These also raise urgent concerns about systemic challenges in Jamaica’s education system, such as curriculum delivery, student preparedness, and support structures for high-stakes assessments. The data emphasises the necessity of targeted interventions to enhance pass rates, particularly in foundational subjects, which are indispensable for workforce readiness and pursuing further education.

Jamaica’s national development policy emphasises STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education as a driver of innovation and economic advancement. Nonetheless, ongoing underachievement in CXC mathematics and science disciplines jeopardises this goal, since nearly 60 per cent of students fail CSEC physics and chemistry and hardly 15 per cent of Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) applicants opt for pure sciences or engineering.

The deficiency in STEM skills has considerable economic repercussions, exemplified by Jamaica’s substantial dependence on foreign specialists in essential sectors such as medicine, engineering, and computer technology, owing to a lack of indigenous competence. Inadequate STEM foundation deters foreign investment, especially in technology-centric industries like business process outsourcing (BPO) and software development, hence constraining job growth and economic diversification.

Addressing this deficiency through focused educational reforms is crucial to aligning Jamaica’s workforce with its developmental objectives. Without urgent interventions, such as better teacher training, STEM investment, and alternative certification pathways, the cycle of youth unemployment, underemployment, and economic stagnation will continue.

Decoy Royal

Lecturer

Faculty of Education and Management

College of Agriculture, Science, and Education

decoy.royal@case.edu.jm