Eleven representatives of education institutions on St. Eustatius and Saba and the RCN Unit for Education, Culture & Science (RCN/OCW) visited Barbados January 29th and 30th, to further orientate themselves with the structure and operation of the exam system of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). The transition to English as the language of instruction includes the switch to the CXC exam structure, which among other warrants that students on St. Eustatius can sit their exams in English.
The Caribbean Examinations Council put a programme together which covered all questions that visitors had regarding the diverse aspects of the system, such as organization and operation of the examination, the relation between the central CXC exams and the school exams, standardization, the composition of subjects, and much more. Moreover the delegation received explanation about the operation of the system, programmes related to the different training programmes such as Caribbean Primary Assessment (CPEA), Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ). The delegation members were all impressed with the quality and the possibilities of the education programme and the exams system.
Part of the programme was a visit to the St. Michael School, that has worked in successful manner with the CXC (CCSLC and CSEC) system. The delegation members could also attend some lessons and were impressed with the involvement of the teachers and the interest and motivation of the students to learn. By means of a discussion with the director and a number of her unit leaders, delegation members received a wealth of information and best practices about the practical application of the system in the daily education. During the visit the foundation was immediately laid for an exchange programme between the St. Michael School and respectively the Gwendoline van Putten School (St. Eustatius) and the Saba Comprehensive School.
The delegation comprised directors and other representatives of respectively the Gwendoline van Putten School and the Saba Comprehensive School, two board members of the Gwendoline van Putten School, the transition coordinator of the transition to English as language of instruction, the teacher coach Secondary Education in the Windward Islands and three workers of RCN/OCW.
The Delegation looks back on a busy but very informative and educational programme. The willingness of all speakers to exchange information and particularly the hospitable reception by the Caribbean Examinations Council contributed to a particularly successful visit.