CXC comes under fire from teachers’ union

Harsh criticisms have been made about the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC)  by the president of the Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers.
Noting that he is not too fond of the examination body, Ashworth Azille said that CXC continues to demand a whole lot from regional countries, but deliver little.
He highlighted the Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQs), which have been incorporated into subjects offered by CXC, as one of the areas where CXC has failed.
 “In order to move from CVQs it requires that we invest untold sums of money in refurbishing our Business, Home Economics and Building Technology labs. To date I have not heard from that examining body, how they will assist the regional governments in meeting those targets, yet they keep pushing their agenda,” Azille said.
He stated further, “What kind of representation we have at the CARICOM level who would allow CXC to continue to run away like a freight train. I wonder when our people go to these CXC board meetings, what message do they take back? Or do they only go for information purposes?”
The union boss also accused the regional examining body of taking advantage of teachers as it relates to them being paid for marking School Based Assessments (SBAs).
Currently, there is a regional push for CXC to compensate teachers for marking the SBA component of CXC exams. Some regional teachers have also refused to mark papers or in some instance withhold the marks to get attention from the relevant authorities.
The A&BUT president explained that CARICOM and Ministers of Education within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have failed to appreciate that this matter is of grave concern to teachers.
He said the time has come for constructive dialogue on the issue.
“It is not enough to say simply compensate, because when we go to the table we must have a clear vision in your mind as to what the value is of these SBAs. It is a discussion that we will have; by will or by force, we will have it,” the union leader said.