CXC focuses on more students trying to cheat

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has reported a worrying surge in incidents of student cheating during the May-June 2024 examination period.

Misconduct included candidates bringing unauthorized mobile phones into the exam center, blatant cheating, and even impersonating other students.

“This is a very serious matter,” CXC Director of Operations Nicole Manning said in a news release this morning.

Manning recounted a particularly egregious case where a candidate was caught trying to impersonate someone else. “Of course, that was uncovered and the candidate was not only disqualified, but banned for two years,” she stressed.

There have been 54 such incidents this year, a significant increase from the 36 cases recorded in 2023. These are not just allegations, as Manning stressed: “The candidates have to sign and agree that, yes, this is what happened. So, we are not making this up. The invigilators and proctors are not making this up. They are telling you, this is what I did.”

– advertise –

Manning revealed that one brazen candidate was even caught “on his phone” and admitted to Googling exam questions during the exam.

Manning urged students to uphold ethics and integrity and said the committee would investigate why candidates may not have been prepared.

The increase was mainly seen in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, where incidents surged from 19 in 2023 to 49 in 2024, while incidents in the Caribbean Advanced Level Examination (CAPE) increased from 17 last year to six this year.

CXC vowed to crack down on any efforts to undermine the integrity of its assessments.

Manning also reported that Difficulties faced by candidates.

The region’s CAPE results showed 100 per cent of students passed French Unit 2, 97 per cent passed Physics Units 1 and 2, and 96 per cent passed Information Technology Unit 2. However, CXC Registrar and CEO Dr Wayne Wesley lamented the low pass rate in CSEC Mathematics and called for a speech.