Impact of COVID -19… CUT joins call to have CSEC exams pushed back to September

May 20, 2020 News

---

The Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) a regional association under which the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) falls has expressed deep concerns at a decision taken by the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) to support the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) for the CSEC Examinations to be held in July 2020, despite its objections.

In a lengthy statement disseminated to the press, the CUT noted that this unfortunate decision places the lives of thousands of students and teachers at risk, as all the issues surrounding the administering of the examinations have not been addressed.
The statement by CUT comes weeks after President of the GTU, Mark Lyte, raised similar objection about the date and format of the exams proposed by CXC. Lyte, a trustee on the CUT told Kaieteur News that he had raised his concerns with the local Ministry of Education but never received a response about their stance in the matter.
In the statement on Monday, the CUT maintained its position. The regional body stressed on the recommendation to have the sitting of CSEC in September 2020.
“There is uncertainty as it relates to the COVID-19 in the region. In order to administer the examination, it is anticipated that educational institutions will be reopened.
We are not confident that the governments of the region have demonstrated the level of preparedness for the planned reopening of schools in order to create a safe environment for students and teachers to effectively operate,” CUT said in a statement.
Further, the Union said that it is cognizant of governments in the region that have reopened schools and some will in short order.
“We consider such a move to be reckless unless the requisite health provisions have been made. We must understand that teaching and learning must take place in an environment that is conducive for such activities. The health and well-being of students and teachers must take precedence over all other consideration at this time.
Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has dramatically impacted our local, regional, and international psyche as well as our accustomed ways of business transactions.
Importantly, the education sector has not been spared from the impact and it behooves ALL stakeholders to agree on mitigation measures that are proportionate, coherent, and inclusive. If nothing else, the crisis of COVID-19 has clearly identified glaring inadequacies, co-morbidities if you will, in the region’s educational system and their ability to absorb pandemic shock.
But it has also presented an excellent opportunity to equip educational administration with the policies and procedures, to not only survive but also maintain quality and equity in education…CUT firmly believes that the September timeline for sitting,” the statement outlined.
The Union said too that it was firm in its position to write since April.
In a letter to the Registrar of CXC, dated April 16, the Union had been firm with the Examination Council that it was vehemently opposed to the administration of the CXC Examinations any time before September 2020.
“The letter outlines several concerns including: – Health and Safety issues – The need for greater engagement on the format of the examination – The validity issues associated with the proposed format of the examination,” the Union added.
Added to this the regional advocacy body made a call for regional governments and educational administrations to adopt and implement some benchmark protocols.
“We are therefore calling on the governments of the region to be mindful not to rush the process for the reopening of schools to facilitate the writing of CXC Examinations, unless they have instituted all measures outlined by the reopening of school protocol.”
The protocols have been established by Education International and include implementation of enhanced hygiene and cleaning practices and equipment in addition to enabling access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
“Formalizing appropriate support structures through social and political dialogue, for vulnerable and affected members of educational communities to include counselling and funding; engaging teachers and their unions in designing/determining the pedagogies; digital tools and platforms that can be used to continue education during the temporary school closures and providing government secured information communication technology and digital technologies that will maintain students’ engagement in times of crisis as well as requisite training for teachers in the new normal modalities,” the statement outlined.

---

---