Students get extra week to swot for exams

(CNS): The Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) announced on Wednesday that Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations will begin a week late, in line with recommendations by regional educators, the Ministry of Education said in a release. The delay is related to the pandemic since not all countries in the Caribbean have been as fortunate as the Cayman Islands. While education was certainly interrupted for the best part of the last academic year, students in Cayman were able to resume normal classes for this academic year. Nevertheless, those taking external exams will now get the benefit of an additional week to prepare.

Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said she was pleased with the CXC’s decision to extend the exam preparation period. “This decision underscores our shared interest of ensuring that each candidate has adequate opportunity to prepare for his/her examinations despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. I am confident that our students will capitalise on this added opportunity to prepare for the upcoming exams,” she said.

In addition to the delayed examination start dates, the regional examination body has extended the deadline for submitting School-Based Assessments (SBAs) until Wednesday, 30 June.

Department of Education Services (DES) Acting Director Tammy Hopkins confirmed that study leave starts on Monday, 31 May, for students at the John Gray and Clifton Hunter schools but the week, Monday 7 June, after for students at the Layman E. Scott on Cayman Brac.

“Understanding that the study leave period provides our students with the opportunity to focus on their studies, it is vital that the process is carefully managed to ensure that students complete all coursework and SBAs before going off on approved study leave,” Hopkins said. “Schools will ensure that students have access to a laptop, internet connectivity and arrangements made for subject teachers to check in with students weekly to monitor their progress. All schools will provide guidance prior to students going on study leave.”

Meanwhile, the government sponsored laptops for primary school students arrived recently. O’Connor Connolly, said more than 3,000 computers had been purchased through the One-to-One Laptop programme, which aims to provide all government school students with laptops for use at home and school. So far 2,640 laptops have arrived, with 762 still to come.

The minister said the laptops symbolised “the start of an exciting new phase of our educational landscape wherein our students will have equal access to a world-class education supplemented by the use of technology”.

Before they are given to students, the laptops are being loaded with the relevant software and programmes, including tracking software, platforms for remote access and content filtering for e-safety. Once that is finished parents will be asked to sign a policy use document.

DES Head of Business Services Mark Ray explained the reason for this final step. “The Cayman Islands Government has made a substantial investment in these laptop,” he said. “Parents are asked to sign an acceptable use policy upon receipt of a laptop to encourage the responsible use and proper care of the device and encourage accountability among students.”

Next comes connectivity, and 145 LTE modems and 170 4G LTE connections, valid for 12 months, will be made available to families that have demonstrated a need for internet connectivity for their children’s continued education.

1,426 of the 1,650 laptops received through the public/private partnership ‘Education for Everyone Initiative’ in 2020 have already been distributed to government schools, the release stated. Of those, 1,090 were entrusted to secondary school students who sat external examinations during the 2019/2020 academic year.

Hopkins noted the importance of having the right resources. “Our schools are well-resourced; whether it is laptops, computer software, textbooks, technology, we are at the cutting edge,” she said, adding that the newly acquired technological tools are essential for creating a broad and balanced curriculum that prepares school leavers to compete in the local and global digital economies. “A broad and balanced curriculum encompasses several facets at all levels, for instance, technology integration, community-based learning, such as the work experience, and also cross-curricular activities.”

John Gray High School Principal Jonathan Clark said students at the school who received computers last year have already benefited from the programme. While it was still early days, “we are seeing a very positive response from staff and students”, he said.

“Our eldest students have benefitted from having individual devices to complete school-based assessment (SBAs), and students are getting very creative with both classroom lessons and online prep sessions,” Clark said. “Our science team have said that uptake to prep sessions has increased dramatically by offering them online with teams teaching to sometimes over 100 students.”

The school’s head girl, Keanna Kelly, a recipient of one of the new laptops, said that it made her feel significantly more prepared for exams. She said that research is easier, so she can finish her work more quickly, and she can communicate much more easily with her teachers.

For more information on the 2021 CSEC examinations or access to the 2021 CSEC timetable, visit the CXC website.

See the Student ICT Use Policy here.