652 CXC students fail to meet job and college requirements

Sixty-two percent of the candidates who took this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination do not meet the minimum requirement for college and jobs advertised in Antigua and Barbuda.
The data released by the education ministry’s Measurement and Evaluation Unit shows, that of the 1, 056 candidates with five subjects inclusive of Math and English, only 404 of those candidates attained passing grades.
Anthonyson King, noted educator, said these results are the most important aspect of the analysis because it provides insight on which students have the minimum passes for tertiary education.
“If you want to go to Cave Hill, you have to have five subjects. Not only are the 62 not qualified for university, but they are not qualified to do basic jobs in the society,” King said.
The breakdown of the results were released one month after students took home their slips which allow entry to the tertiary institutions on the island before CSEC distributes their certificates.
At present, the A-levels Department at Antigua State College (ASC), Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Technology (ABIIT) and the Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute (ABHTI), all require students to obtain passing grades in Math and English A.
The Antigua Girls’ High School (AGHS) is ahead of all other government secondary schools in 2017, with its 128 sitting 1,107 subjects and 1,038 passes in the May/June exams. In qualifying for jobs and tertiary education, 104 out of 128 girls meet the requirements.
The other secondary school candidates who add to the 404 students with five subjects (Math and English included), are the Antigua Grammar School with 60 passes, Princess Margaret Secondary School with 34 passes, Christ the King High School with 31 passes and the St. Anthony’s Secondary School with 27 passes.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, teachers, parents and students can boast that top performers in 2012 Common Entrance also placed in the top five when they sat the 2017 CSEC exams.
Eric Joseph of Baptist Academy, this year’s CXC top student, placed fifth while the top student from common entrance exam five years ago, AGHS student Joni Spencer placed fifth at CXC.
Jarred Francis, a past student of the St. Joseph’s Academy, placed second with thirteen subjects, five years after placing twelfth at common entrance.
The top public and private schools were the Baptist Academy with 97 percent passes, Island Academy with 95 percent passes and (AGHS) with 94 percent, rounding out the top three. The top all male schools on the island, St. Joseph’s Academy with 93 percent and the Antigua Grammar School with 88 percent placed fourth and fifth respectively.
Baptist Academy of Antigua received the highest percentage of passes among private schools, with its fifteen students attaining the most grade ones on the island, with 47.
When compared to 2016, there was an increase in the overall performance of students at public and private institutions from 74.2 percent to 75.3 percent.