Abrupt end to CCSCL exams an outrage

Tatina Murray, Contributor

The sudden decision made by the Ministry of Education to discontinue the Caribbean Certification in Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC) exam is an outrage to the poor masses of this country and our nation's children. This move is the epitome of callousness and reflects a blatant disregard for the education of the children of the poor in this country who, I dare say, are the main ones who sit this examination.

Students currently in Grade 11 have already spent an entire year in grade 10 preparing for the CCSLC exam. In fact, there are some schools which have been preparing students for this exam from grade nine. These students have been preparing to sit this final examination in June 2012. They have been working hard to complete all the projects stipulated for each subject area of the exam so they will stand a fair chance of passing this final means of assessment.

The CCSLC exam was instituted in 2007 to replace the local Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination and is sat by secondary-school students who have been deemed ineligible to sit the popular CSEC exams.

Now that the ministry has decided out of the blue - notification was dated October 4 and some schools only received this bulletin a week after that date - to terminate the sitting of this examination, what are these children to do? What is to become of this one last source of motivation, their one chance of hope, and their one chance of attaining some level of accomplishment at the high-school level? What will they have to show since they are not eligible for the regular CSEC exams?

Who cares what will become of these children? It would seem the Government and the society do not care about these students because they are considered slow learners, dunces, rejects of the education system and, sadly, they are the children of the poor, the defenceless and the voiceless.

Thousands affected

While I can appreciate the arguments Government has put forward regarding its decision, which include the high level of absenteeism, and the little return on its monetary investment in this examination, based on the pass rate, I cannot condone the sudden and callous nature in which this matter has been dealt with, as it will affect thousands of students who have been gearing up to sit exams in June 2012. This short notice is unacceptable, approximately a month when students' fees would have been paid for this exam. It's an injustice to our children!

While the ministry focuses on the failure rate of this exam, it is important to note students are rarely screened for this examination, as is prevalent in CSEC. Thus the failure rate will, indeed, seem higher. But how much higher is it when compared to CSEC? For example, in 2009, 56,000 students were registered to sit CSEC examinations. Of this number, 26,000 (46 per cent) either did not sit or failed the examination. Compare this with CCSLC, where 12,227 entries were submitted and 4,127 were absent (33.7 per cent), and of the 8,100 students that sat the exams, 51 per cent passed.

How much different are the CCSLC passes and absenteeism rate different from CSEC? In fact, absenteeism is higher, and the failure rate in key areas such as mathematics, English and the sciences is no secret! So isn't the Government losing its return on investment in CSEC as well?

It is also important to note once students are not sitting the CSEC examination in most of the upgraded high schools (which have the bulk of students who sit the CCSLC), all students, regardless of their aptitude, are given the opportunity to sit the CCSLC exams, which are seen as an alternative for those who are not able to pursue the higher-level CXC examination.

This move by the ministry further heightens the point of the two-tiered education system which exists in Jamaica - one for the rich and the other for the poor. By these recent developments, the chances of the poor's children to succeed is further reduced. It would seem the exam has not been seen as important and meaningful by the ministry from the very beginning, based on the lack of emphasis placed on the examination, and some students perceive this.

Wrong from the start

From its inception, this exam was not developed at a level that passes would be able to facilitate the transition of students even to the preliminary programme of tertiary institutions like teachers' colleges or community colleges for further studies. The few promotions made at the initial stages directed students with CCSLC to HEART training programmes. While HEART programmes are good and are vital to the skills training of many persons in our country, any exams offered to any student at the secondary level by the ministry should be at a stage that can prepare students for further studies, which should not only be limited to HEART Trust/NTA training programmes.

The ministry has suggested that students sit the City and Guilds examination (a Britain-based exam) and pursue HEART Trust/NTA NVQJ certification as an alternative. But what preparation has the ministry put in place in these schools to facilitate an efficient transition these areas? There is no evidence of any rational thinking (except in terms of dollars and cents) regarding the future of these children, especially those who are currently in their final year of high school.

The ministry needs to be mindful that the biased and callous treatment of our nation's children will come back to haunt us as a society. These students will need no certificate or examination to get into one of the many gangs which exist across the country, or form new ones, or join the teams of con artists that wreak havoc on the society.

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