Trinidad students excel at CAPE exams despite controversy
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| Published on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 |
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By Oscar Ramjeet
Caribbean Net News Special Correspondent
Email: oscar@caribbeannetnews.com
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: Despite the controversy surrounding the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) earlier this year, Trinidad and Tobago students were still able to perform exceptionally well and have come out on top in the region.
The Trinidad Express, in a front page story on Tuesday, reported that CXC officials announced that, from a total of 8,243 candidates registered for the exams this year, 94 percent of the students attained grades one-five, which are the acceptable grades at this level, as compared with 93 percent last year, so the good news is that there was a one percent increase.
Trinidad and Tobago continues to lead the region in terms of performance in CAPE.
Monday's results were released one week later than other countries in the region, after students in Trinidad and Tobago were made to re-sit the exams after it was discovered there had been a beach in security in May.
The integrity of Communications Paper Two, Mathematics Paper Two and English papers, were all said to have been compromised when it was discovered that students had access to the papers prior to the dates of examinations and that many could purchase the papers in question for around TT$5,000.
Eleven suspects, including an employee of the Ministry of Education, were later charged in connection with the leak.
Registrar and chief executive officer of CXC, Dr Didacus Jules, sought to assure the public that the re-sitting of the exams was done under "the most secure conditions possible." He said exam fraud was a global phenomena, but said the CXC body would work to safeguard against a repeat of the incident in the future.
Meanwhile, Education Minister, Esther Le Gendre, in congratulating the students, said that she will ask Cabinet to increase the number of open scholarships from 24 to 48, so more students can benefit and be in a position to take their education to a higher level.
Le Gendre said she was extremely pleased with the results and pointed out there had been a ten percent increase in the number of grades one and a six per cent increase in grades two awarded to students. | | | | Reads : 187 |
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