Most territories in the Caribbean had no student enrolling in the four STEM subjects that the Caribbean Examination Council, CXC, was considering suspending.
CXC has since reversed its decision following intervention from Ministers of Education across the region.
Shaloy Smikle reports.
The enrolment requirement for Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination, CAPE, subjects is 2,500 entries.
The Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate, CSEC, requirement is 3,300.
CEO of CXC, Dr. Wayne Wesley says that in some territories, there was no enrollment, while in others, the numbers were significantly below the required threshold in the four STEM subjects.
He says this dismal enrolment over the last three to four years was what prompted the regional exam body to consider suspending the subjects.
Dr. Wesley says for CSEC Industrial Technology, at least six territories had no enrollment.
According to Dr. Wesley, in CSEC Agricultural Science (Double Award), no student registered for the subject in eight territories.
In the available data for Jamaica on CSEC Agricultural Science, there were 205 from ten schools, resulting in a shortfall of over 3,000 entries.
The CXC CEO also revealed that registration for CAPE Green Engineering and Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology was similarly dismal.
The Education Ministers in the region have committed to ramping up the marketing of the subjects, upskilling teachers in the four subject areas, and providing more resources for STEM education.
This, is because maintaining the subjects aligns with each nation’s strategic goals.
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