Relief as CXC halts axing of vocational subjects after backlash

A worrying cloud of uncertainty over four vocational subjects dissipated on Tuesday after the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) reversed its decision to discontinue certifying them. Education sector players have labelled the reversal as a sensible move.

“I am happy that common sense has prevailed and I hope that it now presents an opportunity for us to look at where we are going in terms of a region, in terms of our educational processes, what it is we’re trying to accomplish,” Keith Wellington, principal of the St Elizabeth Technical High School, told The Gleaner.

In May, the regional examinations body said it would be suspending certification for green engineering and electrical and electronic engineering technology at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) level, and agricultural science (double award) and industrial technology – the mechanical engineering option at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level because of low enrolment.

The discontinuation was to take effect in September 2026.

But in an about-turn on Tuesday, CXC Registrar and CEO Dr Wayne Wesley said the reversal came after consultation with ministers of education of the different territories it serves.

Wesley told The Gleaner that the change of heart was “in the best interest” of the region, and that the deliberation with the ministers reinforced the need for a “collective regional marketing thrust to promote the priority subject areas in STEM education and climate-smart agriculture, which are considered critical for the economic growth and sustainable development of the region”.

Jamaica Teachers’ Association President Leighton Johnson, who was also critical of the initial move by the CXC, has also welcomed the new position.

“We believe CXC would have taken the right decision. It was a retrograde step in terms of the country’s development to have discontinued assessment in those subject disciplines and what we now ask is, as best as possible, to continue the conversation. These subject disciplines are critical for us as a nation, and I believe other Caribbean nations as well,” he said.

Over the last five years, the CXC noted that six territories had no enrolment for the CSEC industrial technology – mechanical engineering, while three territories had only five registrations over the same period.

Only eight territories registered students for agricultural science (double award) with four territories having between 1 and 15 students. Seven territories registered no students for green engineering over the same period. The subject area averaged about 40 students for Unit Two and about 80 for Unit One over the last five years.

For electrical engineering technology, six countries had no enrolments. Jamaica registered a total of 137 students n this subject area during that same period.

Jamaica’s minister of education, Fayval Williams, disclosed last week that the country had an enrolment shortfall of more than 90 per cent in three of the four subjects CXC had said it was going to discontinue.

Meanwhile, Wesley emphasised the need for education systems across the region to be properly resourced to be able to deliver all or some of these subject areas.

It is a sentiment shared by Wellington, who believes this will impact the number of students enrolling in the subject areas going forward.

“There aren’t sufficient resources in most schools that will allow students to look at these subject areas and feel comfortable that they’ll be properly trained and exposed to the newest technologies available in these subject areas,” he said.

He is calling for a regional effort to remedy this situation.

“This is something that they must pay attention to,” he said. “We have to start thinking long term and thinking outside of the box, we have to think about the resources we have available and how best we can make use of them, but we have to make the resources available to the schools in order for us to provide the societies with the skill sets that are required for employment.”

Wesley further outlined the CXC’s commitment to ensuring its communications protocols afford the ministers of education a greater line of sight of high-level policy recommendations for decision-making.

He shared that the CXC has rolled out a menu of new generation technology and science syllabuses. But he stated that some are not yet in high demand. He asserts that the regional governments will work with CXC in shoring up demand for these new programmes to enable their cost viability.

The CXC head also stressed the agency’s dedication to educational and human capital development of the region.

“We will work with all our stakeholders to achieve our vision to advance the fortunes of our region,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com