Region With: Syllabuses Of
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▸OUR MISSION is to provide the region with: syllabuses of the highest quality; valid and reliable examinations and certificates of international repute for students of all ages, abilities and interests; services to educational institutions in the development of syllabuses, examinations and examinations’ administration, in the most cost-effective way. 1 Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) ▸ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Capacity Building Strategic Direction 43 37 34 New Technological Applications 04 Introduction 28 Strategic Direction Chairman’s Statement Strategic Goals 2008 Registrar’s Review Outcomes Introduction 35 Corporate Strategy 08 Structure and Business of the Council Legal Status Development Activities Membership Publishing Committees of the Council Textbooks Endorsement Subject Panels CXC-Branded Memorabilia Examining Committees Professional and Industry Certification National Committees Corporate Strategy Administrative and Operational Centres Fundraising Other Activities 11 Certification CSEC – JANUARY 37 New Technological CSEC – MAY/JUNE CAPE Applications Unified Communications System (UCS) More than the UCS...HR, Records, 23 Outstanding ORS and Virtualization Beyond 2009 Performance CSEC CAPE 38 Syllabus Activities CARDI CSEC US Embassy/CXC National Award CAPE for Outstanding Performance in CSEC CCSLC The Eric Williams CAPE History Prize Critical Review of Syllabuses 2 43 Capacity Building Facts and Item Writing Figures Teacher Training 51 Services 59 Consultancies - St Vincent & Grenadines Item Bank Project Training for St Maarten and Saba National Examininations and Statistical Analysis 44 Marketing, Public 55 Team CXC Relations and Staff Training and Development Team Building Customer Relations Health and Safety Corporate Wellness Management Farewell Press Releases Promotions And Re-Assignments Celebrating 30 Years of CSEC New Staff Visual Arts Exhibition Employee Awards 51 Registrar’s 59 Facts and Figures CAPE Regional and CSEC International Committees of the Council Subject Panels Engagements Staff Strategic 55 Direction Team CXC 28 ANNUAL Report 2009 – published by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) © COPYRIGHT 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED • ISSN: 1562-0476 COVER ARTWORK Dance of the Dragonflies, By Ryan Battick, Decateret College, Jamaica, CSEC Visual Arts 2009 3 Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) ▸ANNUAL REPORT 2009 CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT▸ ▶ I am delighted to CXC has also continued to engage effectively at the present to you the Annual regional level. Participation in the Council for Human and Report of the Caribbean Social Development (COHSOD) allows for broad interaction Examinations Council in the education sphere within CARICOM. CXC also chairs a for the year 2009. 2008 Human Resource Management cluster that informs a regular was a year of change and meeting of Heads of Regional Institutions. 2009 has been one of The philosophy that an organisation that plays and consolidation. Under the prays together stays together is being promulgated within leadership of Registrar, the CXC and there has been a concerted effort towards Dr. Didacus Jules and Pro- promoting health and wellness among staff. As the region Registrar, Mr. Glenroy grapples with issues of chronic non-communicable diseases Cumberbatch, CXC forged – hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease – CXC ahead with the Caribbean has been working to maintain strong internal communication Certificate of Secondary and support mechanisms within the organisation thereby Level Competence (CCSLC), enabling staff and consequently the organisation to develop implementation of the current strategic plan, establishing new and demonstrate a culture of good corporate citizenship. collaborative links with regional and international institutions, None of this is possible without the support of our and building on existing partnerships with regional partners contributing governments, ministers of education and including our governments and the secondary and tertiary Permanent Secretaries, our resource persons - markers, level institutions. subject panellists, a wonderful and dedicated staff at In 2009, CXC also celebrated the 30th anniversary of Headquarters and at the Western Zone Office, and of course, the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) the people of the Caribbean who, in 1979 made a bold step examinations with several activities that included ceremonies forward and have continued to support the efforts of the to honour those persons who worked hard to ensure the CXC. To all of them, I say a sincere thank you. success of the first CSEC examinations in 1979. The CSEC cohort who took a leap of faith with the CXC was also featured, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history! In 1979, the Council offered five subjects to over 30,000 students; in E. Nigel Harris 2009, 33 subjects were offered to more than 150,000 students PROFESSOR E. NIGEL HARRIS at the CSEC level. The CSEC examinations have become the Chairman most recognised and popular secondary level examinations in the region with the popularity of CAPE increasing as well. Over the years, the grading scheme for the examinations has evolved to meet the changing matriculation requirements of institutions of higher learning within and outside the region and such changes will continue to be made by the Council as necessary to ensure the integrity and acceptability of the examinations we offer without sacrificing the quality of the product. The region continues to feel the impact of the global economic downturn and as our governments continue to face budget challenges, publicly funded institutions in the region have been pressed into becoming more and more entrepreneurial in order to meet internal operating targets as well as to maintain an effective external interface. Our Registrar and his team have been aggressively looking for new markets and opportunities for CXC to promote its products. The sale of past question papers, self study guides and other resource materials will not only generate revenue, but will also ensure broad dissemination of such material among CSEC and CAPE candidates. 4 REGISTRAR’S REVIEW▸ ▶ The impact of the As a result of these changes, the structure of the world economic crisis on organization has become more fluid and many opportunities the Caribbean and other have emerged for staff mobility and promotion. events in 2009 proved It is on the technology front that the change process the urgency of and finds its most visible and dramatic expression. Every staff necessity for the strategic member and every department has been touched by the transformation of the new technologies which have the potential of fostering a Caribbean Examinations less hierarchical and more interdependent work culture. Council. National Access to the technology goes across the board and as governments have come we make greater use of applications such as the Unified under increasing pressure Communications System, Docushare, the new HRIS old from a recession that has barriers will crumble. As we roll out technologies such as the the region reeling; our new website, and get the Online Registration System fully own corporate meltdown functional, the constituencies that we serve will access old in the CLICO collapse; services with new ease while new services will signal a CXC the trials of H1N1 and the persistent threat that is poses to that is responsive and proactive to the educational needs of the normal functioning of society. In many ways we have the region. decidedly entered a new era of business NOT as usual. At the beginning of the year, we presented the outline of the new strategic vision for CXC and unfortunately the analysis on which it was predicated has progressively come to pass. We correctly anticipated the difficulties that our governments and societies would face as a consequence of the world crisis and the insufficiency of our own regional integration and solidarity. The strategic direction sought to begin the repositioning of CXC so that it could consolidate and extend its considerable historical achievements in education; create new products and opportunities for Caribbean people; reduce its dependence on government subventions and leverage the power of computer and information technologies to work in a different, more efficient manner. Over the past year we have invested in people, made In the journey of 2009, the biggest disappointment has interim changes to our structures, and began to redesign our been the difficulties that we experienced in sourcing financial processes. In all of this, the introduction of new technologies support for the transformation initiative. Without reservation, has created a strong foundation for that different future. the new vision has been welcomed by all across the region Our investment in people has been the most significant and beyond, but few have put any money where their mouth element (although its results have not been the most visible) is. A few have come forward with important expressions of – we increased expenditure on staff development and support (such as the Embassy of the United States) and with training by 302 percent and have made an unprecedented win-win business partnerships (such as Barbados Business commitment to staff welfare though interventions around Machines-Xerox). We are deeply appreciative of this emotional intelligence and the provision of standing access support. to counselling services as well as a wellness and fitness We will continue to forge ahead with the optimism of programme in which the least paid staff