00:00The Caribbean Examinations Council, CXC, presented the official results for CAPE, CSEC, and the newly introduced CTECTEDE,
00:08reporting an increase in performance across the region.
00:11However, CXC also raised concerns over a number of issues, including absenteeism, misconduct, cheating, and AI usage.
00:20Vanessa Cutting has more.
00:22The Caribbean Examinations Council, CXC, is flagging a number of concerning practices intercepted during this year's sitting of the examinations.
00:33The top three issues we had this year, use of unauthorized devices, this represented the largest instance reported.
00:43Two, collusion, where candidates are trying to work with each other in an exam to complete the exam.
00:51Thirdly, use of unauthorized material and the new one on the block, AI misuse.
00:58We have never had this before. This is new.
01:01The CXC did not give any details as to how these situations were addressed, instead choosing to refer to its
01:09AI standards and guidelines.
01:11The Council also raised concerns over the rate of absenteeism, which it notes is gradually decreasing.
01:18While it is reducing, we had 3,534 candidates in the Levlat Cape being absent.
01:28For CSEC, it's even more worrying.
01:31A 32,403 candidates not turning up for exams is something that the education system across the region has to
01:43be concerned about.
01:44It is something that the Caribbean Examination Council is concerned about, and we are working very hard to encourage our
01:53candidates to turn up.
01:54In spite of the issues, the Council is reporting an increase in the regional performance at both Cape and CSEC
02:02for 2026.
02:03Our regional percentage of acceptable grades have gone up a notch again for Cape.
02:12So we are seeing 93.52% of our candidates overall receiving acceptable grades.
02:20Now, the CSEC paints a little different story, but a good story, nevertheless.
02:25And the overall performance being 72.18%, if you notice there, a slight increase over 2025.
02:35CXC reports that 80% of candidates secured acceptable grades at English A, while math, though less satisfactory, also saw
02:45an increase on last year.
02:47For math, the regional percentage being 42%, this is a 5% increase, sorry, 4% increase over the previous
02:59year.
03:00And this is a good story.
03:01I don't want anybody to be crying, because any improvement in math is a good improvement.
03:07Meantime, the CXC is loading the recently introduced Caribbean-targeted education certificate CTEK, which was piloted last year, allowing candidates
03:18to sit exams module by module towards full CSEC certification.
03:22I am pleased, indeed, and I am proud to announce that of these 2,535 candidates who wrote CTEK module
03:341 in the mathematics pilot examination, 88% achieve acceptable grades.
03:48And across the entire Caribbean, only one candidate received the lowest grade, only one, right?
03:58So it simply means that most candidates are benefiting from the approach.
04:03Measured against a generation in which barely one in three candidates succeed in a typical sitting, this achievement represents a
04:14remarkable turnaround.
04:17CTEK has now been officially launched and will be available across other subject disciplines.
04:23I describe CTEK as a game-changer, and I promise then that we are witnessing the beginning of the end
04:33of the Caribbean Examinations Council as we know it.
04:38Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
04:41The Minister of Education confirms that Trinidad and Tobago did not participate in CTEK.
04:46Meantime, the Ministry says it will release an overview of TNT's performance out the exams in the coming days.
04:53Still to come in tonight's news, the Homeland Security.
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