by Curlan Campbell
- Caribbean Targeted Education Certificate to be issued in 2026
- New qualification will be administered at same standard as CSEC and CAPE
- Approach will allow students to focus on particular modules, enabling them to complete full CSEC certification
The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is set to make individualised learning the future of education in the region with the introduction of the Caribbean Targeted Education Certificate (CTEC).
Dr Wayne Wesley, the CXC Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), announced the rollout of this new qualification, which is flexible and responsive to the needs of students, noting the failure of the conventional one-size-fits-all approach to education during a virtual media conference on 15 April.
CTEC offers an accelerated, advanced curriculum in a compressed timeframe, a standard 2-year programme, or a personalised, adaptable course with an extended programme.
Dr Wesley explained that the new qualification will take into account each student’s learning style, pace, and depth of understanding, as children learn best when their education is tailored to their specific needs and interests. “It’s on the same level as CSEC and CAPE. We’re using the same syllabus, but we have broken it down into manageable components,” he stated. This approach will enable students to focus on specific modules at a given time, allowing them to complete the full CSEC certification.
Under CTEC, the mathematics syllabus is divided into 3 modules, and completing all modules awards the student the subject certification. According to Dr Wesley, the process began with both English and mathematics. If students are forced to exit the system for any reason, they are not obligated to restart the entire Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) syllabus. If a student has completed Module One, they can re-enter the system at either Module 2 or Module 3 to continue their certification process. More importantly, the implementation of CTEC is targeted at addressing the low pass rate in subjects like mathematics.
Under the CXC longitudinal framework, Dr Wesley stated that CXC will be taking a research-based approach over a long period to ensure that people are acquiring the competencies necessary to become proficient at mathematics and English starting at the primary level, focusing on literacy and numeracy, it continues into secondary and tertiary levels while keeping track of factors that influence student performance and addressing those challenges.
Dr Wesley explained that the new qualification will be administered at the same standard as the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). It will utilise the same syllabus, focusing on related and relevant learning outcomes while allowing for the progressive achievement of competencies, and it will not be terminal. “The CTEC will adopt subject-based approaches, where assessments are based on the syllabus qualifications we offer and are discipline-specific. Additionally, CTEC will employ a skills-based approach, with assessments based on competencies achieved through real-life scenarios and situations, making them contextual,” he said.
CTEC implementation workshops will train teacher educators to teach others in their member states effectively. The second training segment will concentrate on skill-building for competency-based teaching.
Implementation is scheduled for September 2025, with the initial CTEC to be issued in 2026.
