06 the Caribbean Examinations Council an Instrument of Decolonisation P32 08 the First Meeting of the Council: Who Attended?
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
IN THIS ISSUE THE FIRST FORTY YEARS 06 The Caribbean Examinations Council An Instrument of Decolonisation P32 08 The First Meeting of the Council: Who attended? QUOTES FROM THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF COUNCIL 10 Mr William Demas 12 The Right Excellent Errol Barrow Prime Minister of Barbados 13 Archibald Moore – A CXC Architect 14 Tribute to Major Rudolph Daniel – First CXC Registrar 15 The First Phase 16 The Impact and Influence of CXC – Tribute to Sir Roy Marshall on the Regional Education Landscape 20 CXC 1998 to 2008: A Period of Consolidation P30 and Expansion 30 Happy Birthday CXC 32 CXC IT Transformation 35 First Staff of CXC 37 Chairmen of CXC 39 Registrars of CXC 40 Deputy Chairs of CXC 42 CXC 40th Anniversary Service Extracts from Canon Murrell’s Sermon 4 MAY 2013 www.cxc.org The Caribbean Examiner CXC NEWS 44 CXC Gets a Taste of Anguilla 46 Top Awardees: Anguilla Experience P in their Own Words 16 50 CAPE Digital Media Syllabus 60 CAPE Awardees are 2013 Rhodes Scholars 64 Caribbean Needs New Education Highway 66 Truman State and University of Michigan Offer CAPE Credits ABOUT THE COVER Forty years is a significant milestone in the life of an institution, and as CXC celebrates this historic occasion, the Council takes the opportunity to reflect P64 on the visionaries who created the institution and those who laid the foundation upon which CXC now stands. At the same time, CXC looks toward to the exiting, but challenging journey ahead with confidence. THE CARIBBEAN EXAMINER is a publication of the CARIBBEAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL © (CXC) EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Dr Didacus JulessEDITOR:#LEVELAND3AMsLINE EDITORS: MARCELDA AUGUSTE AND DR SANDRA ROBINSON Please send your comments to: THE CARIBBEAN EXAMINER, CXC, THE GARRISON, ST MICHAEL, BARBADOS Website: www.CXCORGsE-mail: [email protected] sISSN 2071-9019 www.cxc.org MAY 2013 5 The Caribbean Examinations Council An Instrument of Decolonisation By Sir Kenneth O Hall In celebrating the achievements of the structure. "ere was considerable dissatisfaction Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) with the overseas system of examinations and since the Inaugural Meeting of the Council, syllabi that were not considered relevant to the cognisance must be taken of the prevailing needs of the developing societies in the region. conditions in the region in 1973. On re!ection, Speci#cally it was felt that that system did not the Council came into existence as part of the provide for the involvement of the teachers process of decolonisation in the Commonwealth who were the major players in the delivery of Caribbean since the 1930s. "is process led education and catered almost exclusively to the to the constitutional changes resulting in needs of an academic elite. the independence of states of the Caribbean, One of the remarkable aspects of the thereby allowing them to enter the world stage background of the creation of CXC was that as sovereign states. "ere was considerable although independence had been achieved in optimism about the future embodied in the most of the territories that would eventually raising of national !ags, the adoption of national become members of the Council, the alternatives symbols, the composition of new national for the education system were presented as anthems and membership in the United Nations between the English overseas system and a and regional bodies. regional structure, not a national system. Decolonisation is more than constitutional "e explanations for the choice of a independence. It involves the reversal of the Regional system can be found in the strength process of European imperial expansion with all of the regional ideology that had taken hold its political, economic, social, cultural and racial of the region. "e ideology of integration consequences. In the Caribbean decolonisation exempli#ed in the phrase “integrate or perish” and independence were expected to provide was widely adopted by the framers of the treaty the framework for sustainable economic establishing the Council. It will be recalled development, development of democratic that the Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing institutions and signi#cant improvement of the “CXC was expected to the Caribbean Community and Common standard of living of the people. "ere were Market (CARICOM) was signed in 1973. "e notions that independence would lead to the facilitate the development Treaty provided for cooperation in three areas- creation of a new Caribbean man that would be Economic Integration, Functional Cooperation imbued with a distinctive identity, self-reliant of the human resources for and Coordination of Foreign Policy. "e and self-con#dent and equipped with the skills motivation for establishing integration among and competences to manage challenges of the Caribbean development, the countries of the Region rested on the new independent countries. conviction that given the small geographic size, At the centre of this vision was the belief provide the training for the small population, openness of economies, the that education would be an indispensable prevailing patterns of trade, the uncertainties instrument for the transformation of the leaders of the Region and in the global environment, integration was the Caribbean people and the building of a new only option if these countries were to remain civilisation. "e Caribbean Examinations serve as the intellectual and viable and provide their populations with a Council (CXC) was created to give voice and decent standard of living and the opportunity to concreteness to those aspirations. "ere was ideological apparatus to create a Caribbean identity and civilisation. consensus that without the Caribbean’s ability to "e Caribbean Examinations Council construct its own curriculum, develop its own nurture our identity as a (CXC) was a direct outcome of these beliefs pedagogical methodologies and appropriate and this vision. To ensure that it became an content to respond to the needs of the Caribbean Caribbean people.” instrument of decolonisation, CXC adopted people decolonisation would be incomplete. a mission that would provide the Region "e challenge was how to devise a system that with “syllabuses of the highest quality; valid would replace the entrenched colonial education and reliable examinations and certi#cates of 6 MAY 2013 www.cxc.org The Caribbean Examiner CXC: An Instrument of Decolonisation international repute for students of all ages, felt by teachers and stakeholders about their acceptance of the examinations in the Region abilities and interests”. In addition it was exclusion from the process as experienced and recognition internationally signal that mandated to provide “services to educational during the colonial period. "ese frequent the Caribbean people, through cooperation, institutions in the development of syllabuses, meetings have created a network of teachers to are able to build institutions that can project examinations and examination administration, share ideas and resources that have contributed their sense of achievement at the regional and in the most cost e$ective way.” CXC was given to the development of teaching and learning. international level. "e rapid introduction an all-inclusive mandate “to conduct such "ere is also an indigenous capacity building and use of technology within the organisation examinations as it may think appropriate and for curriculum development, measurement and not only promoted e%ciency but have placed award certi#cates and diplomas on the results of evaluation across the region. it on the cutting edge of examination bodies examinations so conducted”. One of the central concerns of globally. For all these reasons it is reasonable Beyond the speci#c examination role, CXC nationalists before independence was the to conclude that the Caribbean Examinations was expected to facilitate the development of the restrictive curriculum o$ered in the secondary Council (CXC) which was established to give human resources for Caribbean development, schools. During the past forty years CXC has expression to Caribbean desire for freedom and provide the training for the leaders of the Region aggressively addressed that concern moving self-de#nition has delivered on its mandate over and serve as the intellectual and ideological from #ve subjects in 1979 to over thirty subjects these forty years. apparatus to nurture our identity as a Caribbean at the CSEC level in 2013. Of great importance people. As an indication of its continued role in this expansion of subjects has been the as an instrument of decolonisation, the current consultation with policy makers and educators Registrar has rede#ned the new vision as one resulting in new courses being o$ered to meet BIBLIOGRAPHY that seeks to “reposition the organisation as the emerging needs of the society. Among these leading certi#cation body for the Region, and its new subjects are Physical Education and Sport, Hall, K. (Ed.). (2003). Re-inventing new mission is to assure the global intellectual Music, "eatre Arts, Human and Social Biology, CARICOM: !e Road to a New competitiveness of the Caribbean.” Economics and O%ce Administration. "e Integration. Kingston: Ian Randle One of the distinctive features of CXC successful implementation of the Caribbean Publishers. from the beginning was the broad based Advanced Pro#ciency Examination – CAPE, involvement of its stakeholders. "ere are is further evidence of the realisation of a vision Hall, K. (Ed.). (2001). !e Caribbean sixteen participating states on the Council. "e to create examinations appropriate to the needs Community: Beyond Survival. Council is composed of the Vice Chancellor and of the Caribbean. From its introduction in Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers. three other representatives from "e University 1998 when #ve units were examined to forty of the West Indies, the Vice Chancellor and four units in twenty #ve subjects in 2010 the Hall, K. (Ed.). (2012). !e Pertinence one representative from the University of CXC has continued the rapid expansion of of CARICOM in the 21st Century - Guyana, two government representatives each its examinations in response to the growing Some Perspectives.