…exceptional students will be allowed to write more than 10 CSEC subjects

THOSE students who are believed to be performing exceptionally well will not be limited by the implementation of a subject cap when it comes to the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

This was pointed out by Minister of Education Nicolette Henry and Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson, when they, with other education personnel presented the official CSEC results at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development on Tuesday.
Minister Henry was adamant that the ministry’s main concern is quality over quantity and will therefore focus on getting students to pass every subject they write, rather than just encouraging the sitting of several CSEC subjects. Henry told a gathering of top CSEC performers, their parents and the media, that the circular which was issued in June by the ministry, “…in no way said that people cannot write beyond the 10 subjects.”

She said from a qualitative standpoint, the ministry recognised that the focus should be however, to get students in secondary schools to matriculate, while having a greater eye on successes in the area of Mathematics and English. While writing numerous subjects could bring some attention to a student, the minister said, the ministry is responsible for the creation and implementation of policies that allow them to be successful, “and the circular that was sent out does make provision in exceptional circumstances.” She did highlight that it was not the ministry’s intention for especially junior schools, to have much focus on students writing more than six subjects.

The CEO added that the June circular “by no means said that children cannot write as many subjects as they feel they could.” He noted however that “we don’t want to spread ourselves thin at the expense of not passing the subjects that will cause you to matriculate.”

The CEO pointed out that on islands such as Barbados, CESC students are allowed to write only eight subjects, while students in Antigua and St. Lucia may take as many as two years to complete five CSEC subjects. The spin off from this, Hutson pointed out, is that at the end of the day, all the students in those nations will matriculate and pass their subjects. He noted that the alternative is that students writing many subjects and are unable to get the grades that will see them off to university, accessing gainful employment and having purpose-driven lives.

If children are allowed to run away with the idea that writing more subjects than actually passing them is important, their performances would be affected. There had been much contention over the subject- cap issue when the ministry announced via a circular letter to public secondary schools in June that it was exploring the possibility of enforcing an upward limit on the number of subjects being written at the CSEC examination.

This limit sought to debar students of the senior secondary school, including those with sixth forms, from writing no more than 10 subjects, while students from junior secondary schools would write no more than six subjects. Former Education Minister Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine believed that the students should have a more rounded education by getting involved in sports and drama, while taking on a wider cultural experience.