CXC collaborating with AEA to offer ‘Second Chance’ programme

Sep 04, 2014 News

AEA officials Grace Alleyne (L) and Patricia David

All is not lost for persons who have written and failed the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination which is offered by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). This is in light of the fact that CXC is set to collaborate with a number of local organisations including the Adult Education Association (AEA) to give students a chance to redeem themselves.

With a programme dubbed ‘Second Chance’ it is believed that local young people will be able to acquire qualifications that can ensure that they become productive citizens.

Speaking of the genesis of the collaboration with CXC, AEA’s Executive Director, Patricia David, said that AEA was invited to be part of a meeting hosted by CXC which saw the attendance of local institutions that are known to offer second chance programmes.

David said that among the institutions targeted were the AEA, the country’s technical institutions, the Board of Industrial Training and the Guyana Industrial Training Centre.

“All of us took part in that initial stage and then they gave us time to consider if we will really be interested and most of us responded favourably,” related David during an interview with this publication.

This was followed by strategic training for tutors to offer CXC’s ‘Second Chance’ programme, and according to David, in some cases some institutions were merged to offer the programme. She however, noted that the CXC officials recognised the potential of AEA to stand on its own to offer the programme.

“They came here to us and introduced the management team and the tutors, to what this whole thing will be about…even how we will deal with the students,” said David.

All measures were officially set in motion after a two-day workshop at the Ocean View International Hotel in July. The workshop was one that served to explain not only the importance of the programme, but how it will be monitored and evaluated.

According to AEA’s Finance Manager, Grace Alleyne, although such a programme is already offered in sections of the Caribbean, the ‘Second Chance’ programme is in fact new to Guyana. And the newest offering, she noted, is premised on CXC’s recognition that some of the youths in the Caribbean are not able to benefit from the formal education structure.

This reality has been linked to social and economic circumstances that some persons are subjected to. And according to Alleyne, the prevailing circumstances have been known to put the youths at risk or make them vulnerable to the ills of society, since they are less likely to be able to contribute to the development of their communities.

She therefore disclosed that CXC through this venture has been offering a set of products that can be tailored to suit the needs of the target group – persons between the ages of 16 and 30 who have not been able to qualify themselves.

Among the offerings are the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC) and the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ).

AEA’s collaboration with CXC is expected to be a natural task, as according to Alleyne, the entity has for more than five decades been providing education that has been tailored to meet individual needs of persons who were not able to succeed in mainstream educational institutions.

And according to her, AEA will from next month commence offering the CCSLC certificate, while moves will be engaged to offer the CVQ in the near future.

The CCSLC programme is being coordinated by Alleyne, who pointed out that it is designed to certify the knowledge, generic competencies, attitude and values that all secondary school leavers should have. Moreover, the CCSLC core subjects are English, Integrated Science, Mathematics, Social Studies and Modern Language. Alleyne however, noted that in order for persons to obtain the CCSLC, like most academic programmes, Mathematics and English are compulsory.

She pointed out though that there are a number of ways or routes to obtaining this level of qualification.

“For instance if a student has gained Grade Fours at the CXC business subjects, that student can complete the CCSLC Mathematics and English,” said Alleyne who asserted that “this new certification is very flexible and can ensure that everyone is certified.”

It therefore caters to: development of life skills; training/retraining for employment or entrepreneurship; portable certification and further education.

And according to Alleyne, persons who can seek to access the programme are teenage parents, individuals seeking life and work skills, those with limited or no academic certification, those with literacy and numeracy gaps and unemployed individuals.

Alleyne disclosed too that the programme is even tailored to cater to persons prone to be violent, persons with behavioural challenges, those who may be victims of violence or abuse and even those persons with criminal records.

Moreover, she pointed out that CXC introduced the ‘Second Chance’ programme as one that seeks to put at-risk youths on a path of learning that will provide them with the life and work skills necessary to positively transform their lives. Alleyne said that CXC is making available the programme to serve as a foundation for life-long learning.

Those desirous of accessing the programme can visit the Carmichael Street, Georgetown, office of AEA to learn more about the ‘Second Chance’ programme.