Statement

Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports
Topics: 
Education
Release Date:
Friday, 19 August 2016 - 2:44pm

STATEMENT ON THE 2016 CXC CSEC RESULTS FOR

THE TERRITORY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

BY MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND CULTURE

HONOURABLE MYRON V. WALWYN

 

One of the aims of the Ministry is to prepare students to be globally competitive.”

It is my pleasure to present to you today a synopsis of the Territory’s performance in the 2016 CXC Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and to give an update on the plans of the Ministry of Education and Culture with regards to the implementation of CXC Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE). First let me offer sincere congratulations to all those students who have been successful!

This year, a total of 220 candidates registered for the June, 2016 CSEC examinations.  Of the total, 162 were students within the Territory’s public secondary schools, 50 from private secondary schools and 8 were private independent entries.

These numbers are significantly lower when compared to our usual almost 300 plus CSEC entries.  However, what would account for the reduction in the public school entries is the change in the class structure policy implemented by the Ministry of Education – the addition of Grade 12.  Therefore, only a percentage of our students wrote exams this year in 11th grade.

A total of 25 subjects were written by candidates. Of the 25 subjects written: 8 subjects received 100% passes.  They are Biology, Home Management, Office Administration, Caribbean History, Agricultural Science, Physical Education, and Mechanical Engineering Technology Technical (Metal Work).

Subjects with passes between 90 to 99% are English Language – 90%, Integrated Science – 96%, Chemistry – 90%, Principles of Business- 95%, Social Studies – 94%, Human and Social Biology – 93%, and Electronic Document Preparation Management – 93%.

The subjects with the highest number of entries were English Language with 173, Mathematics with 148, EDPM with 88 and Human and Social Biology with 82 entries.   25% of all subject entries were Grade ones, 33% were Grade twos and 21% were Grade threes.

A comparison of the two core subjects of Mathematics and English Language shows that of the 173 students who sat the English Language examination, 149 candidates received Grades 1 to 3 passes; this indicates a pass rate of 86%. 62 students or 37% received Grade 1 passes.  Of the 148 candidates who sat the Mathematics examinations, 122 candidates received Grades 1 – 3 passes; this indicates a pass rate of 82%.  37 candidates which is 26.62 % received Grade 1 passes.

Of the 220 candidates who wrote the examinations this year, one candidate wrote and was successful in 10 subjects, 1 candidate passed 9 subjects, 15 candidates passed 8 subjects and 15 candidates passed 7 subjects.

I want to pay special recognition to Chassidy Leonard and Jelani Norman of Elmore Stoutt High School who passed 8 subjects with 5 Grade Ones each. Special mention must also be given to BVI Seventh Day Adventist student, Ms. Michelle Smith who successfully completed 10 subjects with 5 Grade ones; Moeisha Prince of St. Georges’ Secondary who passed 9 subjects with 6 Grade Ones and Emmanuel Borokinni also of St. George’s Secondary who passed 8 subjects with 7 Grade Ones.         

We anticipate that the June, 2017 sitting will have an increase enrolment and an increase in the number of passes overall in the territory as all Grade 12 students in our public schools are expected to write CSEC examinations and for the very first time in the in the history of the Virgin Islands, secondary school students will be offered classes that would prepare them to write the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE). 

What does this mean? There will be a percentage of our Grade 12 students studying CAPE subjects while completing their secondary graduation requirements.  For the first year, the subjects being offered include Integrated Mathematics, Communication Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Caribbean Studies, Financial Services and Entrepreneurship. 

In an effort to prepare our teachers to effectively carry out this initiative, the Ministry, in close collaboration with the Caribbean Examinations Council, will commence training in this upcoming week for all instructors selected.  The move being made may be considered a bold one and with every new venture there are measures of uncertainty, but if we are to accurately compare the performance of the students in the territory of the Virgin Islands with those in the rest of the Caribbean region, and if we are to help our students thrive to be the best that they can be as they venture on to higher education, we must raise our standards and encourage our students to rise to the challenge at a higher level.

The government remains committed to underwriting the cost of CXC examinations in the future for all eligible students.  Noticeably however, this year like in the previous years, students have been registering for examinations and not showing up to write examinations. 

This year there was a 10% absenteeism recorded for the territory. Of the 967 examinations registered for in June, 2016 examinations, only 868 scripts could be accounted for.  This means that 99 scripts were not written.  We look forward to an improvement in this area as students will act responsibly in this matter. 

We call upon parents to do their part to ensure that students realise the importance of receiving CXC certification with regards to furthering their education and seeking employment.  One of the aims of the Ministry is to prepare students to be globally competitive.  What better measure can be used but the performance of our students on the CXC examinations, our regional examination?

 As we analyse the 2016 CSEC results, the Ministry of Education realizes that there is a lot of work still to be done to ensure that the results will continue to improve. 

It would be remiss of me to end this statement without thanking our principals, teachers and parents for their continued hard work, dedication and commitment.  Thank you for showing interest in our students, our children. Congratulations to the teachers; without your instruction, we would not have realised this year’s success. Congratulations to the parents on the success of their children, your encouragement and support   are critical to their success as well.

In closing, I again extend congratulations to those candidates who were successful at the CSEC examinations and I encourage you to press onward, and aspire to be globally competitive.