The Deceased Labour Party – Part Two

Dear Editor,

“Considering that Barbadians live better and Barbados functions better when the DLP is out of office, their time in the wilderness is for the best.”

The Deceased Labour Party – Part One

The above assertion from the first article in this series is perhaps contentious and thus, a point worthy of excavation. 

Firstly, from an economic perspective, in its first period in office, the Democratic Labour Party claimed to ‘accelerate industrialistion and job creation’. However, when they left office in 1976, they left a country with inflation sky-rocketing and unemployment had reached 25% of the ‘true labour force’. Waste and inefficiency had become pervasive in the public sector. In absolute terms, the same number of people were employed in 1976 in light industry as when they came to office in 1961. Acreage available for agricultural production had declined, as well as output. The cost of living was also rising with phenomenal increases in prices and few will forget the mismanagement of the 1973 oil crisis. 

In the DLP’s second period in office, the economic calamity of the 90s is well known to all. Again, this was originally induced by the international economic realities of the 90s, but the situation was handled terribly, resulting in the social upheaval and economic chaos of that period. 

Finally, there are few who can deny the stark economic reality of 2018. There had been a complete erosion of investor confidence, Barbados’ credit rating was on a perpetual track of ‘downgrade’, foreign reserves were through the floor, ‘home-grown plan’ after ‘home-grown plan’ had failed to achieve its objectives, taking us around a roundabout of economic calamity, or what the then government called ‘turning the corner’. Cost of living again was sky-high, and taxation was unevenly distributed, thereby disproportionately affecting the working classes. 

Turning to the social aspect, Barbados has had to confront a chequered colonial past, necessitating a suite of social programmes for the aggrandizement of the working classes. 

Before the DLP came to office in 1961, free education had been introduced at four secondary schools, a basic feeding programme was instituted at primary schools providing children with milk and biscuits, the feasibility study and draft legislation for the NIS was prepared, the first public housing units were constructed, a myriad of legislation to protect workers was introduced and loans were provided for higher education and housing for civil servants. 

One wonders how many of those achievements have been misleadingly attributed to the Democratic Labour Party?

After the DLP was booted from office in 1976, minibus operations were legalized allowing small players into the industry, illegitimacy was removed from the statute books, plantation tenants were given the opportunity to own their land, phenomenal strides were made to make men and women more equal in society delivering a ‘new deal’ to women, electricity was provided to the entire island including rural areas, unemployment benefits were introduced and the NCF and NSC were created. 

In the DLP’s column, they have Mr Sandiford’s work in education in the Barrow years, the School Meals Service started by Mr Barrow, and the expansion of the previously started free education, national insurance and public housing. 

Clearly then, much of the social infrastructure on which this country is founded was not built by the DLP. To a large extent, the Democratic Labour Party has continued and expanded the programmes of others. 

Finally on the political front, Mr Barrow must be credited with leading Barbados into independence and his vision and inspiration and Mr Sandiford for creating the Social Partnership.

However, the DLP did not win universal suffrage and full ministerial government for Barbadians. Their commitment to regional integration has also wavered, particularly in the last dispensation, with scarce interest being shown to CSME, as well as the fanning of xenophobia by Mr Thompson’s administration.

It was the DLP that dismantled local government for short-term political gain, and in the process stripping Barbadians of an important layer of democracy. Few might remember, but the DLP also opposed the creation of the EBC, clearly being more comfortable with an electoral office operating out of the PM’s Office.

Concludingly, when one looks at what has been achieved when the DLP has been out of office as well as the failures when they have been in office, what conclusion can be drawn? Does it not appear that the DLP has not been more successful than their political rivals, in terms of achievement? Does it not appear that, especially since the passing of Mr Barrow, they have been stripped of any vision? Does it not appear that Barbados has done better when the Democratic Labour Party has been kept out of Bay Street? When we answer those questions based on the unimpeachable evidence above, is it not so that we are much better off for their time in the political wilderness?

Finally, next week, an assessment of the 65th Conference itself.

Khaleel Kothdiwala 

133 thoughts on “The Deceased Labour Party – Part Two


  1. What a shocking record! It is obvious after this clear, neutral report that the blue wild ones have failed in every respect. The narrative is not that blacks cannot govern themselves, but that the DLP cannot govern Barbados.

    But I do not agree with the author that Barrow has earned any credit for Barbados. Barrow was, in my opinion, a egomaniac and populist. Why? Today, many British overseas territories are much better off than we are. Or take a look at the Dutch Antilles or French Guyana. So from a financial point of view, the declaration of independence was disastrous.

    Add to this the fact that Barrow was a terrible socialist who either hadn’t read his Marx or didn’t understand Marx properly. Marx designed socialism for the modern industrial society, not for an impoverished plantation with low productivity. Therefore, all developing countries failed to make the immediate leap from tribalism to socialism. Just look at Mao´s China. Barbados is no exception.


  2. Hope the workers Toni Moore threw under the bus and b..tch slap her at the polls
    This is one barefaced political opportunist
    Her interest in the workers added up to zero
    However she now is being rewarded for her diligent job of putting her self first and govt interest first
    What a dirty piece of work


  3. It is almost impossible that at the alarming of rate crime and violence and how it continues to rise in barbados
    That the stability of barbados social environment can survive this ongoing level of crime and violence
    This is gone far beyond a small issue but an issue that seeks resolution
    Oh never mind the AG is now attending other matters like speaking about same sex unions and the republic


  4. IF THIS IS NOT CONFIRMATION OF A MASS SELL OUT NOTHING IS.

    THESE BLP POLITICIANS BOLD AND MAKING LAUGHING SPORT AT THE LOCALS.

    REALLY PUNCHING ABOVE WEIGHT IN TAKING EVERY LOCAL VOTING BAJAN FOR A FOOL.

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    Moore gets the nod to represent St George North

    Trade unionist Senator Toni Moore has been elected as the ruling Barbados Labour Party’s candidate for the St George North constituency.

    Political leader and Prime Minister Mia Mottley made the announcement moments ago at a BLP press conference.

    Moore, who is the general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, replaces outgoing Member of Parliament Gline Clarke who demits office on September 30.

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2020/09/23/moore-gets-the-nod-to-represent-st-george-north/


  5. i feel sorry for the young man and for all those who have been messed up by these grades. i note that Guyana particularly (QC the top school) has been protesting vociferously along with other Caribbean countries. this matter must be investigated to find out what went wrong.


  6. We do not need academic eggheads in the post-Covid19 era, but plantation workers and chambermaids in the hotels. So in my opinion the exam was totally OK.

    In the future it will be enough for the 1% of children of rich parents to study. The rest may serve.


  7. Is the problem CXC oar the teaching in our schools? We must pressure the ministry to publish the results of individual schools. We want to know how each has performed.


  8. @Hal,

    this is happening across the region not only in Bim so it can be a teaching problem unless there is a comparable teaching problem in the rest of the region, too. as much as i think the Minister of Health is a joker i dont agree she should publish the results yet, until an investigation has been completed

    here is Guyana’s top school protesting and threatening to leave CXC as its examining body

    https://demerarawaves.com/2020/09/24/guyanas-queens-college-threatens-to-leave-cxc-take-legal-action-over-alleged-botched-results/


  9. @Hal,

    this is happening across the region not only in Bim so it cant be a teaching problem unless there is a comparable teaching problem in the rest of the region, too. as much as i think the Minister of Health is a joker i dont agree she should publish the results yet, until an investigation has been completed

    here is Guyana’s top school protesting and threatening to leave CXC as its examining body

    https://demerarawaves.com/2020/09/24/guyanas-queens-college-threatens-to-leave-cxc-take-legal-action-over-alleged-botched-results/


  10. @ Greene

    I know it will bring out the howlers, but I suspect there may be a problem with the teaching, particularly with maths. They should register with another examining board, and take resits in November.
    But we want to know the performance of each individual secondary school. We want to know which is failing and the extent of that failure.
    My concern is that in a highly competitive world we are falling further and further behind. It is not only the 16-18 yr olds, it is the entire nation. We are failing in every aspect of our nation’s life.


  11. Every time someone talks about a problem in Barbados the prowler in chief looks for a UK example, and often gets sit wrong. There was no marking by examiners in the UK this year.
    The results were based on an algorithm, in other words, artificial technology, based on the previous three years results of the institution, not the individual pupils.
    The technology was later over-ruled.


  12. “Perhaps CXC should have a well educated, well trained public relations person on staff.

    I think that maybe CXC has forgotten that it is the tax money, and the exam fees from the parents and students in the region which pays all of CXC’s expenses.

    It is NEVER EVER wise to bite the hand which feeds you.”

    ain’t that the truth.

    Donna……yes the coloinal registrar is being a first class prick and i hope there is a criminal investigation and that one gets charged with something, but when these types of things happen, always check to see WHO IS HIDING BEHIND THE SCENES…..as long as Mia and Santia don’t come out pretending they do not know who or what is behind CXC….and who and what believe they own all the schools on the island FUNDED BY BLACK TAXPAYERS…we shall see what we shall see going forward..

    all their nasty shit over the decades need to pour out into the public domain…..and all of them IDENTIFIED.


  13. When something that destructive is introduced into children’s lives all across the Caribbean, first thing i do is look in the background, start researching the last 35 years and look for particular names…you will be shocked at what and who you can find from 1985 coming forward…..they are parasites who must be removed from Black lives in Barbados and the Caribbean PERMANENTLY..

    CXC gotta GO….


  14. CXC will never disclosed the how they apportioned the marks with the Paper 1 and SBAs. That should be standard as all persons know how the marks are apportioned when all the papers were done. Some schools in the Caribbean maybe exposed as all of the high flyers normally receive 100% in their SBAs with great help from the teachers.


    • @Lest we forget

      Minister Santia Bradshaw advised 2020 results improved year over year including marginally in maths.


  15. All I know is that my son has receipts for having attended two examinations and has been marked absent for them. Many friends are in the same position. Friends of friends also. A teacher at his former school says that many of his students are in the same position. It isn’t only the grades. It is the failure to even register that the students took the exams.

    This indicates that something has gone horribly wrong and a comprehensive review is necessary.

    In this economic, climate fees MUST BE WAIVED.


  16. I know David because most of the Barbadian schools are not complaining because the students did well to go on to six form schools, BCC and UWI. They would not be in line for Island scholarships or exhibitions and have no need to complain.


    • @Lest we forget

      Yes, it seems the students on scholarship and exhibition watch are the ones feeling hard done. Overall Barbados improved in CAPE and CSEC. Those with ungraded once they present their receipts should have their situation resolved.


  17. “Many friends are in the same position. Friends of friends also. ”

    A whole class at HC i believe it was, got ungraded, whatever the hell that means..

    so much was happening yesterday and so many people affected, but suffice it to see all these kids across the Caribbean are being DISENFRANCHISED by CXC….that is why hundreds of millions of people had to know what’s going on in the Caribbean, CXC is the culprit and must be removed…never to return..


  18. And you are going to believe what Santia says, never do that, ministers/politicians are notorious LIARS..maybe you need to speak to other parents besides Donna, the ones who are now mulling a class action lawsuit.


  19. The dumb negro is always happy to do the dirty work….and he knows he is lying..

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2020/09/25/no-probe-says-registrar/

    not only the CAPE students were impacted..and he knows the results ARE NOT ACCURATE….as long as they get rid of CXC and stop allowing these shite councils to hold the children hostage after sucking governments across the Caribbean for tens of millions annually, prevent anything like this from ever happening again, CXC can just disappear and become a bad memory..

    “However, CXC Registrar Wesley has made it clear that there will be no special investigation into the results explaining that the results are accurate and the process above board.

    He also emphasized that the Council had no intention of waiving the review fees.”


  20. David,

    There must still be something horribly wrong when so many students who attended exams were marked absent. I have no faith in anything that was done this year.

    And I must say that I never heard of any such problems when we did the GCE O levels and A levels.


    • @Donna

      If the blogmaster were to guess the problem may be found in the SBAs, Previously only sample SMA were submitted, this time around all the SBAs were moderated by CXC which may have been graded more harshly.


  21. African people in Barbados and the Caribbean need to start moving away from the superficial shit shoved down their throats over decades and start finding themselves..start developing yourselves and let ya shite leaders go to hell, they are nothing but empty shells, nobodies created to dwell in nothingness…

    this is what childen should be learning, not CXC shit.

    https://youtu.be/Ly0d_5mfJMg.


  22. CXC looking for ‘best outcome’ 

    By Sheria Brathwaitesheriabrathwaite@nationnews.com

    While students in Barbados and across the region have been protesting their results in the 2020 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) officials are reporting that this year’s performance was better than that of the past three years.

    After media houses in Barbados and across the Caribbean highlighted the concerns of upset students about their CAPE and CSEC results earlier this week, with some ministries of education appealing for CXC to conduct an investigation, CXC held a press conference via Zoom to address the controversial matter.

    Registrar and chief executive officer of CXC, Dr Wayne Wesley, gave a statistical presentation comparing this year’s regional performance with that of the past three consecutive years. He said that based on the numerical data, there was a higher percentage of acceptable grades in 2020 than in the past few years.

    Some concerns

    “Since the release of [preliminary] results, there have been some concerns being raised, and the reason for hosting this press conference is to provide clarity on how we will approach and treat the concerns that have been raised,” he said.

    “Ministers and ministries of education across the region, we would have been in dialogue looking at the best way to approach the situation and allow for an approach that would yield satisfactory outcomes to all. We have agreed and will be working with the ministries of education to address those concerns in a fulsome way providing clarity . . . and a detailed report on the concerns being raised will be provided.”

    While comparing results from 2017 to 2020, Wesley said: “For the CAPE results, the performance from 2017 to 2020 showed a gradual improvement in those candidates receiving acceptable grades – and note that this year the performance is 93.25 per cent, which is higher than the previous three years; in terms of the number of individuals receiving acceptable grades.

    “In respect of CSEC, the same result obtained, where when you look at 2020, 79.57 per cent of those sitting the exam would have received acceptable grades. An increase over 2019, 2018 and 2017. So overall, the region would have registered an improved performance.”

    Pretty much the same

    He continued: “The distribution of grades in terms of quality or the level of acceptable grades given remains pretty much the same across all four years (in terms of the CAPE). When you look at Grade 1s in 2019, 21 696 candidates received a Grade 1. In 2020 that number was 21 243, which is a little less but pretty much equivalent and that is much more than what obtained in 2018 and 2017. When you look at those receiving Grade 2s in 2020, 26 338 received a Grade 2 which is higher than that of 2019, 2018 and 2017.

    “With respect to Grade 3s, 24 698 received a Grade 3, which when compared to 2019 it is a little less than those persons obtaining a Grade 3 (25 686), and that amount was less than 2018 as well as 2017.

    “For CSEC, a similar pattern obtained.”

    Wesley added that CXC was pleased with the improved performance and that he was also satisfied with the council’s service in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerning irregularities and any discrepancies in results, Wesley stressed that unless a formal complaint and or query was made to the council, CXC could not

    respond accordingly.

    “If there is a particular concern, that concern must be raised . . . . We have done all of our internal checks . . . . We have to be (careful) that whatever we are responding to we can verify. All of our data that we have reviewed, all the things we have looked at and ensured that our processes and systems are in place have not revealed what is being said. And I am asking: provide us with the information so that we can address them.”

    Wesley said only two formal requests for a probe were made but did not disclose which Caribbean state’s ministry of education did so.

    When asked how many individuals made queries, Wesley said that information could not be provided at that time due to the process that action usually requires. He added that CXC had not received any yet.

    Yesterday, while the online meeting was going on, scores of Barbadian students demonstrated outside CXC’s headquarters at Prince Road, Pine Plantation, St Michael. The students walked up and down the street chanting “Review, regrade, we will not pay” and demanding that their work be regraded.

    Harrison College student Hanikkai Horne said, “Despite our efforts, the lot of strenuous hours we put in to get good grades in our CAPE exams, we did not reach them. The grades are not what we deserve”.

    Source: Nation


  23. Students demand CXC regrade 

    Students protesting along Pine Plantation Road, St Michael yesterday.

    Queen’s College students James Adam (left) and Khaleel Kothdiwala joined the protest.

    Scores of students, mostly from the older secondary schools, took part in a protest yesterday just outside the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) headquarters on Prince Road, Pine Plantation Road, St Michael.

    Students in Barbados and across the region had issues with their Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) grades when the preliminary results were published on CXC’s website Tuesday night.

    Yesterday, students walked up and down Pine Plantation Road chanting, “Review, regrade. We will not pay”.

    Some had placards which read We Will Not Pay For Your Mistakes, Fix Our Grades and Give Us the Grades We Deserve.

    James Adam, of Queen’s College, said: “I am protesting because the grades I got back from CXC were not fair. I do not believe they are a good representation of what I should have gotten.

    “In the 11-Plus exam, I got an average above 90 per cent. At CSEC, I got back ten subjects with five Grade 1s. So now with these CAPE results, the marks I got back do not reflect the amount of effort I put into studying.”

    His schoolmate Khaleel Kothdiwala said: “We have a multiplicity of students who are top achievers who have now found themselves in a position their teachers did not expect or they themselves.

    “This is not only a Queen’s College problem or a ‘top school’ problem but a regional one. The CXC is an examination body that functions on the integrity of theirresults; that is the currency they trade in. If the veracity of those results are in doubt, then CXC means nothing.”

    Harrison College student Hanikkai Horne said: “Despite our efforts, the lot of strenuous hours we put in to get good grades in our CAPE exams, we did not reach them. The grades are not what we believe we deserve. We studied hard during the COVID school break; we created many study groups and we want answers.”

    Her schoolmate Shanice Caddle said: “This is our future they are messing with. How are we supposed to get into university and get jobs? We can’t stand for it.”

    The demonstration took place from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m., and police officers were on the scene monitoring the proceedings.

    (SB)

    Source: Nation


  24. David,

    My son was a resit. His SBAs from last year were to be used. Don’t know how that would be treated this year but he should not have been marked as absent if they missed connecting his marks, which they really shouldn’t have as they have the new registration form with the old number also entered to connect them. If they did not connect them, it should have resulted in an ungraded not an absent.

    So how do we explain the large number of absents of students who took exams?

    Something is still wrong.


  25. @All, if you think that CXC could get away with the dismissive reply to the Minister, under Barrow or Adams, you are joking.

    It may indeed be that the marks are fair, or not. But an arrogant an flat refusal to review is dismissive and inappropriate.

    At this stage, the Minister should also insist on an independent group (three senior examiners from international bodies), be included in the review group.

    As for parents, I would suggest seriously considering Hal’s advice, re alternative examinations as soon as is feasible for the student (s). This taking into account that further preparation will be needed.

    For those students who are sitting next year, the parents should make immediate arrangements for them to also (alongside) take exams from an overseas body, privately. I am not sure which ones offer such in Barbados, but I believe that there is a private A Level institution that should be able to guide them.

    The bit of extra effort and the money will be an insurance policy.


    • CXC’s pride and prejudice
      It is said that one of the most tragic flaws in hamartia, or “error of judgment” is hubris. We have been taught that hubris is that pride or overweening selfconfidence which leads an otherwise revered or level-headed leader to disregard divine warnings and commit sometimes fatal errors.
      We must admit that having observed the actions of the leadership of the Barbados-based regional body – the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), we fear that the organisation is so littered with PhDs and other esteemed designations, that they have somehow forgotten whom they serve.
      From Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and up the island chain, there has been a chorus of complaints and laments about highly unusual results which were recently delivered by CXC to the students and their institutions earlier this week.
      Yes, we know that 2020 has been strange to say the least.
      We do not pretend to know what has gone wrong with the 2020 results for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations but something certainly is not right.
      Barbados’ Education Minister Santia Bradshaw and her counterparts across the various territories have demanded some form of investigation to uncover the source of the region-wide headaches for students, many of whom require and were expecting good grades to continue on with their plans for higher education.
      “The disquiet among students who recently received the Caribbean Examinations Council’s CAPE and CSEC examinations is definitely cause for concern. I am of the view that an urgent investigation must be carried out by CXC into this matter to preserve the integrity of the examinations,” Bradshaw urged the regional examining body which is funded by the Governments of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
      From its brand-new headquarters at Pine Plantation, which we believe the goodly, heavily burdened taxpayers of Barbados are still financing, the initial response of its registrar and chief executive officer Dr Wayne Wesley, not only sounded tone-deaf but insensitive.
      Declaring there would be “no investigation”, the response was the equivalent of one giant slap in the faces of parents and students who called for an investigation into the “unusual” results. This request to the average man in the street seemed just and certainly not outlandish.
      “We don’t have an investigation to launch; we are very confident with what has been done and I think what is needed is clarity,” Dr. Wesley is reported by local media to have said.
      Assuming that reporting from the CXC boss is accurate, we say to you Dr Wesley your response is a non-starter and its effect was only to antagonize the constituents whom you serve, who by the way, can still exercise other options for external examinations other than the CXC.
      We have been more than proud of the work of this regional institution which was started in 1972 when an agreement establishing the Council was signed in Barbados by the governments of 15 English-speaking Caribbean territories.
      It is a shining example of functional cooperation of CARICOM. However, no matter the success of any person or institution, none is infallible and mistakes can occur.
      To suggest there was not even the need for an investigation is to say to the thousands of students, teachers and their representative bodies across the region and to the Governments, in the form of their Ministries of Education, that CXC is incapable of making mistakes and really there is nothing anybody can do about it. We certainly hope that was not the message that the institution intended to convey.
      Like the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and other institutions who have found a home in Barbados, the CXC benefits from a level of protection from various forms of legal action. However, we ask Dr. Wesley to reconsider his approach to his disgruntled stakeholders and conduct a real investigation into the 2020 exam results debacle and then share the contents of the probe with the region.
      That would be an exemplary form of leadership of which this region would be particularly proud.
      As with the tragic hero Oedipus in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the CXC is not an evil man and its misfortune in 2020 is greater than it deserves. But remember, happiness can change to misery because of mistaken choices, clouded by hubris.


    • Review them!
      IRATE STUDENTS INSIST EXAM RESULTS BE RECHECKED
      by Marlon Madden
      “Fix our grades!”
      That was the demand from dozens of angry students to officials of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) today.
      Growing disquiet among students over recently released CAPE and CSEC examination grades spilled over into a peaceful protest action from dozens of students who gathered outside the entrance of the regional examination body this afternoon at Pine Plantation Road, St. Michael.
      The protesters, some of whom were clad in uniforms, were made up primarily of students from Combermere, Harrison College and Queen’s College, with support from several teachers and parents.
      The placard-bearing crowd started their protest under the watchful eyes of members of the Royal Barbados Police Force, clapping and shouting slogans such as “fix our grades” and “save our students”.
      One of the organizers of the protest, Khaleel Kothdiwala, told Barbados TODAY he was hoping that at the end of their protest action CXC would give them a listening ear and review the grades, since those issued were below what the students were expecting and certainly did not reflect the hard work they had put in.
      Describing the widespread disappointing grades in this year’s CXC exams both at the CSEC and CAPE levels as “a very serious issue”, Kothdiwala insisted “it needs addressing”.
      “I think CXC ought to meet with some students. CXC ought to meet with teachers.
      Students and teachers both agreed by this. They can’t continue as business as usual. What has happened this year is unprecedented, and the solution therefore must be unprecedented,” he said.
      “What has obtained is iniquitous. As a matter of fact, it is an injustice to students and to teachers, many of whom have put in the hard work and this is the pay they have received out of it. That is not good enough.
      We want CXC to listen to us. We hope they will come to their senses and listen to us,” he added.
      He said depending on what decision was made by the governing examination body in the coming days, a follow up protest could emerge.
      “Until then we will continue action. That action could come in all manners and forms, not only in protesting. We have other things in train. It would be wise for CXC and the governments of this region to listen to us.
      This situation cannot continue,” he said.
      Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw issued a call to the CXC top brass on Wednesday asking for an “urgent investigation” into the concerns over the exam results, which were released on Tuesday.
      This was in addition to a petition started by students, that have garnered thousands of signatures.
      However, in a swift response, Registrar of CXC Wayne Wesley insisted that was not going to happen, and indicated that CXC had no intention of waving review fees.
      He insisted that any students with queries should use the process by submitting a query and a request for review through schools or in-school candidates through the Ministry of Education in the case of private students.
      In a strong rebuke of the CXC response, Kothdiwala said it was nothing short of being “nonchalant”.
      “It was as though nothing was out of the ordinary,” he said.
      He argued that while every year students query grades, this year was different given the level of confusion.
      “So that the response cannot be ordinary.
      That response was far from acceptable and not suitable, and certainly not a good reflection of a regional institution. CXC as an examining body, relies on the integrity of their results.
      Right now the views on the integrity of those results in the international community is in doubt,” he said.
      Kothdiwala issued a call for reforms at the examination body that would be for the long-term, pointing out that the issues regarding grades were not new.
      “The issues have been pernicious and they have been clawing at the surface for decades with the Caribbean Examinations Council, and it is high time perhaps that we use this opportunity – in every crisis there is an opportunity – to solve the problems that have plagued CXC and have become so manifested in the last three days,” he recommended.
      He agreed that while the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on how exams were delivered, it also resulted in students and teachers putting in “extra hard work”.
      “We have suffered enough from COVID- 19, we have suffered enough – parents have lost their jobs, students in Barbados have had to rely upon the charity of the ministry of education and the private sector to donate tablets so they could learn during the time they were off. During all that time people have put in the work and these are not the results that can come out of that hard work. They are not commensurate to that,” he said.
      Barbados TODAY understands that the parent teachers’ association of several schools have already met on the matter and could be formulating a plan should CXC refuse to do a review of the grades.
      One parent of a lower sixth form student, told Barbados TODAY that given the widespread concern he believed the demands for an investigation and review of the grades were justified.
      “To my mind, the response coming back from CXC to a minister of government, our minister of education, basically said ‘we are not relooking it and we are not waving the fee to have it done’, speaks volume to how CXC views themselves and how they view the parents and the children,” said Neil Weekes.
      Weekes said what was most upsetting for him was that the future of thousands of students now “hangs in the balance” since some students have now been rejected from universities or lost scholarships due to the grades they received.
      Weekes said he was willing to support the students until they get satisfaction.
      “These are people who were on scholarship watches and their scholarships are gone, their dreams of going to university are gone.
      If it is that they didn’t do well, then so be it.
      ‘This is COVID-19 pandemic period and anything can happen, but don’t take the approach of basically ‘screw you, it is what it is and if you want to get it redone you are going pay $60 and we are going to tally up the marks and you get the same grade.
      That is not good enough,” he said. marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb


    • Unyielding
      CXC HOLDING ITS GROUND ON EXAMS
      by Randy Bennett
      The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is sticking to its guns.
      CXC registrar and chief executive officer, Dr Wayne Wesley has defended the body’s grading system and given his assurance that a “rigorous quality assurance mechanism” had been executed.
      His comments come amidst scores of complaints from students across the region who took this year’s Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and reported surprising results.
      Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw had called for an urgent investigation to be carried out by CXC in response to those reports.
      In a hastily called Zoom meeting this afternoon, Dr Wesley said he was confident CXC had done a good job in grading those papers.
      “In the administration of our examination there is a rigorous quality assurance mechanism process that is executed. That quality assurance mechanism ensures that there are detail checks of every single subject with a detailed report and as is customary with the end of our assessment process that there are queries that will be made; that is why there is a window between preliminary results being released and final results being released.
      “Those concerns that are raised we will treat to and provide the requisite responses,” Dr Wesley said.
      However, he reiterated that there would be no investigation by CXC into the CAPE or CSEC results.
      Dr Wesley revealed that, to date, CXC had only received concerns from two territories. However, he did not name them.
      He said CXC was yet to receive any formal complaints from students.
      However, he said students could follow the protocol in place if they wished to have their grades reviewes.
      Dr Wesley maintained that the results of this year’s exams were in line with results of previous years.
      In fact, he pointed out there was an increase in performance this year, with students receiving acceptable grades.
      He said this year, 93.25 per cent of students setting the CAPE exam received acceptable grades, which was higher than the previous three years.
      With regard to CSEC, Dr Wesley disclosed that 79.57 per cent of students sitting the exam received acceptable grades, which was also higher than the three previous years.
      He contended that those results did not suggest there were any inaccuracies by CXC.
      “The overall performance shows an overall improvement in the performance for the region in both CAPE and CSEC. I think the notion that there is widespread achievement of less than acceptable grade is not borne out.
      “In fact, this year you have less persons receiving less than acceptable grades of any other period for the last three or four years,” Dr Wesley pointed out.
      As part of a shortened examination due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students setting this year’s exams were graded on a multiple choice exam and their school based assessments (SBAs).
      Despite the challenges encountered by CXC, Dr Wesley said he was satisfied with the manner in which his organization had operated.
      “Certainly we are very much pleased with the fact that over the year 93 per cent received acceptable grades for the first time as well as CSEC, which had improved performance for the past four years, that’s what I’m pleased about,” he said.
      As a form of protest, students and parents demonstrated outside CXC’s Wildey headquarters this afternoon. randybennett@barbadostoday.bb


  26. Dr Wayne Wesley has defended the body’s grading system and given his assurance that a “rigorous quality assurance mechanism” had been executed.
    +++

    That is wonderful to hear. So, he should have absolutely no issue with an independent body of three senior examiners from other internationally recognised bodies reviewing the procedures and a (large) sample of papers and results!


  27. “@All, if you think that CXC could get away with the dismissive reply to the Minister, under Barrow or Adams, you are joking.”

    yes they could, when all of them are members of this evil cultish shit that has poisoned the Caribbean with its toxicity for decades…..was it not said that Mia was recently elevated to Grand Monster or grand dragon or some such unnatural man-made devil crap…

    let’s see any of those members mouthing off at these evil and dangerous councils….that must be removed out of the lives of the African descended in the Caribbean forthwith and definitely out of the lives of taxpayers in the region….IMMEDIATELY.


  28. Hal AustinSeptember 26, 2020 6:11 AM Students should ask for electronic copies of their individual marked papers for free. That is their right.
    +++

    If the anger and words written are accurate, very likely we will soon see a lawyer involved and injunctions / order of specific performance issued.


  29. @Hal,

    At this point, agreeing to a review is probably CXC’s better action. The alternative, an order from the court to release papers to students, which are then reviewed openly by teachers and displayed to the public, could cause far more reputational damage IF it is shown in any cases, that there were irregularities / inconsistencies.

    Word to the wise.


  30. Despite the hardships being experienced, parents need to POOL ALL THEIR RESOURCES and make a collective and concerted effort to GET AWAY FROM CXC..


  31. @Crusoe

    This farce is typical. Where is the controlling board of the CXC, Dr Wesley’s bosses? If this issue drags on, it will be the end of the CXC. It clearly needs a radical overhaul and arrogance and obstinacy is preventing these fools from doing the right thing.
    Sadly, I do not think the problem is CXC’s, but one of the entire educational system, at least in Barbados. We have a prime minister, a former education minister, who by her silence is complicit in the bad management.
    All they are doing is opening a gap for private secondary schools, offering international exams. I remember years ago a Jamaican with good CXC passes being rejected by a Canadian university.
    This is the future of the region they are playing with. Not just the inflated ego of administrators.


  32. No confirmation yet, but i understand they pulled back the Springer scholarships, if true, then that lying registrar will have to EXPLAIN …why they would, when he said the grades are accurate…


  33. We have to face the reality that the murderous, HUMAN SACRIFICING DEVIL WORSHIPING CULT of free masons now infecting and infesting the Caribbean region must be eradicated permanently out of the lives of the African, too many of your backward, uneducated criminal minded leaders are members, to the detriment of the black populations…it has gone on for far too long…..for over 60 YEARS…

    from the 80s CXC has been polluting the island….they gotta GO.

    they just nearly got away with keeping another 3 generations of the population trapped in generational poverty and the prison industry…..for which their lowlfe TIEFING members have a contract….yall better get up and get rid of these blights, curses and parasites off the islands and out of the region..


  34. Let me put in my two cents.
    The missing and absent should be felly explained.

    For the grading, this will not be the first time that students got better or worse grades than they expected.

    I am slightly amused at the slogan ‘We Will Not Pay For Your Mistakes, Fix Our Grades and Give Us the Grades We Deserve” as this is quite different from ’We Will Not Pay For Your Mistakes, Fix Our Grades and Give Us the Grades We EARNED’.

    Could there be a difference between what the think they deserve and what they EARNED.


  35. The missing and absent examination should be fully investigated and an explanation provided.

    It is quite possible the BU Scholar got the grade he earned.


  36. Somebody need to piss in the morning coffee.

    ‘I think the notion that there is widespread achievement of less than acceptable grade is not borne out.’

    I struggle with the ‘less than acceptable grade’.

    In my world, you get what you earn and accept it. You want a better grade, put away your placard and resit the exam.

    Perhaps, you are not as smart as you think you are. Perhaps, your school is not as good as you think it is.

    Life can be a bitch. Accept it.
    +++++++X+—–
    Let me add this… in my world, the examination boards need to have quality checks in their markings methods. Their examination answers need to be 100% correct.
    Lip service and going through the motions is not part of the process.


  37. WURA-War-on-U 7.33 am
    Are you using a school that the students have to fight against all stereotypes to achieve to justify that CXC did something wrong? As a parent of a child that went to six form at Springer and did very well and is now at UWI,I can tell you that Springer never had no students on Scholarship watch this year. It was strictly rumour to show that some schools in the public mind cannot get scholarships but were getting scholarships. What I can tell you that the Six form at Springer has been a tremendous success and the students are well rounded and like the high flyers earn degrees and go on to be worthwhile citizens of this country.


  38. Yall can blame Barbados’ whoring sellout negros governments for what is happening now.

    “There is also the avenue of injunctive relief in the interim, to delay CXC from declaring prelim results as final results, as Guyana is reported to be exploring.

    The CXC HQ Agreement with the Bds Gov needs to be examined carefully.

    I will tell you though that CXC will say they are not subject to the jurisdiction of local courts, based on an agreement signed with the Barbados government so they tend to pretend to cooperate with the local legal process and then declare that they are not subject to it and abruptly stop “cooperating”.

    There are several other regional organizations that are immunized with similar agreements “


  39. Those immunity clauses signed 60 years ago after the demise of the illfated Federation in some people’s estimation should no longer be in effect…but i won’t put it pass any of the sell out negros in the parliament to have renewed it in exchange for bribes or to retain their membership amongst devil worshiping criminals.


  40. “As a parent of a child that went to six form at Springer and did very well and is now at UWI,I can tell you that Springer never had no students on Scholarship watch this year. ”

    this is not about Springer, as i said the LYING REGISTRAR will have to EXPLAIN why he pulled back any scholarships from Springer, if indeed they did…in addition, Springer is on of the schools all the bright kids who were DISENFRANCHISED of all their colonial 11 plus grades were HERDED INTO in the 70s…using a method resembling the nasty crap CXC is using now…Springer, Ellerslie, etc always had the potential to cough out scholars, but the funding was always withheld by sell out negros of parliament..


  41. Repeating myself here.
    As a part of the website of these examination boards, there should be a description and reasons for these anomalies (ungraded, missing, …).

    These sites should also have links that readily provide a variety of summary statistics for previous years. The partial statistics provided by CXC are woefully inadequate.

    We need to abandon the blackbox approach and make systems more transparent. I am quite certain that these organizations can provide more information without divulging proprietary secrets.

    _______*****_______
    I suspect that the grading may be the one thing that is correct. We will hear little from those who performed as expected or better than expected. They are those.


  42. Sargeant,

    you think he can somehow link the DLP to the CXC foul up or praise MAM and the BLP for their help? lol

    still i feel the young man’s pain. this is not a good look on CXC.


  43. @Hal

    what are you saying mate? i did CXCs and GCE and CXC are far more taxing. the UK watered down GCEs to iGCSEs or simply GCSEs. it has been my experience that those are inferior to CXCs. my children did the International Baccalaureate program instead of A levels and that is far superior to A levels in terms of preparation for Uni where they gained firsts. CAPE is also superior to A levels


  44. TheoGazerts
    CXC refuses to even publish mark schemes for exam done. Cambridge publishes all of its mark schemes for O Level and A level once the exams are completed and results are back.The reason is clear that the persons who set especially the Multiple choice papers for CXC are lazy.They recycle 98% of the questions on average every year.The students who are complaining know that their SBAs marks were high and they practiced five years MC papers and knew the answers for every question CXC set in the last five years. CXC is not really a transparent Examination Body..


  45. Jo-anne Tull

    · So how is it that UWI the regional tertiary institution must continually seek Quality Assurance approvals which include a system of exam querying and review, and CXC the regional examining body for subjects required to enter UWI does not? What am I missing here 🙆🏽‍♀️ Make it make sense for me please.

    Extracted from Dr. Tull’s Facebook


  46. @ Greene

    I know nothing about CXC/CAPE exams. But an exam with multiple choice questions does not tax the learning of the pupil to my mind. It is a guessing game.
    I would question your assessment that IGCSEs are more taxing than GCSEs. In factf, it is not. And you are mistaken about the so-called watering of GCEs.
    Every year until about five years ago, newspapers would sit and wait for GCE exam results to come out; if the students did well, they will claim exams were dumbed down; if they did badly, they were dumb.
    About five years ago the exams were drastically improved, especially the maths exams, with the Foundation maths, equal to the old GCE, and the higher maths is now the same standard as the old AS or first year of A level. A level maths is now about the first year of university.
    All this was done without any fanfare or megaphones.


  47. Let’s not get carried away.

    I agree that there should be greater transparency, quality assurance processes, etc., but let us not start equating the quest for accreditation of a university with with having standards for CXC.

    What’s next, a ‘screaming test’ parent pointing at UWI because little Susie couldn’t cut it.


  48. “As a part of the website of these examination boards, there should be a description and reasons for these anomalies (ungraded, missing, …).”

    Don’t hold your breath, CXC is a piece of shit…., despite what the lying, arrogant CXC registrar said about the grades being perfect in his delusional world….THEY HAVE STARTED TO FIX THE GRADES THEY CLAIMED DID NOT NEED FIXING for the UNGRADED, so by next week ….all of them should be as the kids expected.


  49. @Hal

    quote] I would question your assessment that IGCSEs are more taxing than GCSEs.[unquote

    i would too becos i made no such comparison.

    the comparison i made between GCEs and IGCSEs is not recent. i am talking about when i sat GCE or what we called O levels and the IGCSEs and GCSEs offered now. i have seen the ones today and they are not as involved as the old GCEs

    multiple choice or objective type questions can be v tricky (you have to know the answer or guess) and sometimes take more studying than long or short answered questions. i prefer the latter where i can bluff and waffle if i dont know the exact answer.

    the International Baccalaureate is better prep than A levels (my experience) for uni. it prepared my children for critical analysis and structured essay writing with citations and referencing and they sailed thru uni getting firsts.


    • Note the long answer question was eliminated this year by CXC because of COVID-19. Multiple Choice is not the standard measure and evaluation of students.

      >


  50. THe parents around the Caribbean must now put pressure on ALL GOVERNMENTS to GET RID OF CXC out of the region permanently…..first opportunity they get, they will do this evil shit again or even worse..

    ….of course Barbados’ uppity, whoring, sellout bribetaking governments have a secret pact with these freemasons so we shall see what we shall see…but ah want them to know that MORE PEOPLE KNOW about all their NASTINESS and WHO THEY ARE…..than they think or would believe, so they can keep fcuking around and see what else falls out, this was just a prelim..


  51. @David,

    hence the issues as to the weighting given for that and the SBAs. at any rate the multiple choice paper was a part of the overall individual exam subject back in my time too


  52. Barbados’ arrogant, uppity fools can always fight against it, show us how bad their DEVIL CULT is.

    your black leaders are the ENEMIES OF BLACK PEOPLE, even from before 1966 AND STILL ARE..

    ….they IMMUNIZED entities/organizations/cults against Black people across the region decades ago, without your knowledge, they are traitors and back stabbers.


  53. DavidSeptember 26, 2020 3:11 PM Note the long answer question was eliminated this year by CXC because of COVID-19.

    ++++++++

    That is utter madness. Total and utter.


  54. CXC’s credibility at stake
    The issues raised by the controversy surrounding the recent results of CXC examinations are not to be brushed aside, with facile answers comparing previous years’ results with this year’s.
    They are serious issues deserving of serious treatment.
    The fact that so many students from this region have issues with the results published on Tuesday last is remarkable. There is a widespread carpet of complaints within the region.
    And it is not only students who are concerned. Students have a direct interest in the results. Rather on this occasion, regional ministries of education are concerned and teaching administrators are asking questions or making statements.
    The president of the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools, Juanita Wade, for example, is reported as saying that the grades do not align with the abilities of many students.
    As she further said, “We are not accustomed to so many students being disappointed with their results”.
    Queen’s College in Guyana has threatened to leave CXC and take legal action over what they call “botched results”. Complaints have also been raised in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and in Grenada.
    The interesting thing is that there were some changes this year, with Paper II not being administered. Yet Wade believed that without Paper II, CXC had the ability to provide a fair process. We agree. CXC has proven ability in providing a fair examinations process.
    Endorsements of faith in this regional body seem reasonable given CXC’s earlier track record. But then CXC’s previous good record begs the question of why so many students and their schools are disappointed with their results this year.
    The large numbers speak their own narrative.
    In the last edition of Weekend Nation, Dr Wayne Wesley, registrar of the CXC, is reported to have said that no investigation is needed but that clarity will be provided.
    We cannot believe that this view is a final view. If these were isolated cases one could probably agree with this approach; but when more than 10 000 students sign a petition of complaint, then CXC
    has a problem of credibility and a concurrent duty to be transparent as they solve it.
    Sometime last month, Wesley told us that for these examinations the Paper II would not be administered.
    What we think needs to be clarified for a start, is whether the absence of Paper II has anything to do with what appear to be skewed results. Perhaps the registrar can explain the statement attributed to him that there is no adjustment to the weight of papers since the modified approach being used excluded Paper II. What was the modified approach?
    Clear answers may suggest to more learned educators how the modified approach, as this year’s new factor, worked out in the examination marking process and in the allocation of the grades.
    CXC must also explain how students who wrote the examination can receive a grade which says they were absent from the examination.
    These matters all deserve careful attention. The integrity of regional associations is still being attacked in some quarters, where some of our own argue that we cannot get it right.
    Until now, CXC has been regarded as a regional success. Any factors which militate against the credibility of such an important regional entity must be dealt with in a responsible and urgent manner. High stakes are at stake.

    Source: NAtion


  55. “That is utter madness.”

    nah…it’s utter freemasonry EVIL…the black governments gave them free rein and immunity to create mischief in the lives of our children ….they have always been our ENEMIES and should not be allowed to set any exams, standards or curriculi for our kids, the damage they created over the decades has been total….now they have been exposed on Facebook, people are understanding better, they are voicing they always had doubts about them, but could never pinpoint exactly what was wrong UNTIL NOW, but since C(shit)C is criminal by nature, it was just a matter of time before they OVERSTEPPED…what has blown their minds is they never expected that LEVEL OF BACKLASH….or people with the acument to UNMASK THEM….although it’s only more pronounced because EVERYONE from across the strata of the societies has been impacted and not only the Black majority in the individual islands, so these are the unintended consequences.

    the good news, everyone now knows where CXC is headquartered and they know where to find it and alyuh done know i too love to know where everybody live..

    so, when is Mia’s next trip to Guyana to interfere in their business….ah can’t wait..


  56. Oh…and we know where to find all the lodges on the island too, oh yes we do..

    and am quite sure the populi in every island knows where they’re located too…..so dazzle us with devil cult badassness.


  57. “Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry for African Americans founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784.”

    So the 236th anniversary for this evil shit is September 29, 2020…but ah telling alyuh now, that lodge business was created in the days when Black people were so ostracized they had no choice but to come together and copy something to indicate cohesiveness for self protection. WE GET THAT….but all that FCUKERY should have DIED WITH THEM and not continue into 2020.

    Yall are NOT USING that #11 GATEWAY shite to SACRIFICE OUR CHILDREN AND FUTURE GENERATIONS in no goddamn NEW GATEWAY…fcukoff… it is white magic and it’s PURE EVIL.

    Just wanted yall to know that i know that and so much more.


  58. Hope everyone is seeing what happens when the negros of parliament sell out their own people AND THEIR OWN SOULS to savages and gave them blanket immunity from as far back as the 1940s or 1950s. When these people have their RITUALS to perform, the shitehounds of parliament cant stop them because they are a part of the cult and it’s our children, granchildren and other innocent people end up being human blood sacrifices.


  59. Sometimes, I am not able to see things as clearly as some here do. I am still struggling to see the role of the free masons in this brouhaha and I am waiting for the connection to be made.

    I have a strong suspicion that the grades, in the absence of outright dishonesty, will remain as they are; in fact, this may be the one item that they got right.

    Changing of grades would signal that there is a major problem with administering/marking/reporting the results of these examinations. And whilst we would like to lay the blame at the feet of the dog with a bad name (COVID-19), changes would also make me question the results of the previous years,

    How many promising young men and women had their trajectories altered (significantly) by the incompetence of these examination boards? Should we then do a “deep-dive” into past CXC grades or should we accept that this is as a single big screw-up?

    Is our success/failure system unable to accurately classify success or failure; Is it generously passing some and unnecessarily failing others?

    What if these “inaccurate grades'” are also for the sciences? Could it be possible that the ‘markers’ were provided with incorrect multuiple choice answers? And if they were, what does it say about the knowledge of those marking the papers?

    The one thing that cannot change or must not change are the grades.

    (Side note 🙂 An inaccurate grading system might explain two of our Barbados scholars 🙂 . It is a joke. There is no need to point out that your time was before the era of computers/cxc 🙂 Geez. It is a joke that I couldn’t resist. )

    However, missing and ungraded papers are still a cause of concern.
    The shipping of papers must be traced from source to destination.
    Reconciliation of payments for paper supposed to be marked and those actually marked (not missing or ungraded) must be performed.
    Where discrepancies are found, then a sample of the papers marked by those who were found to be dishonest must be performed.

    I tire, but I tried to put some real flesh on the discussion.


  60. Theo…even if you can’t see or don’t know, the culprits see and know well Enuff…that is what i love about this, they have instilled such fear in the people for decades that they themselves cannot come out and say anyone is lying when there are more than Enuff people who know who they are….upclose, upfront and personal..

    so far some of the ungraded have gotten back their results in Barbados, don’t know about the ones who they claim were absent but have receipts and proof that they were present for the exam, you will have to ask Donna how her son fared.

    ….the problem is Santia came out once telling CXC to review the grades etc and they told her to shove it…..notice CXC Grenada and Guyana complied.. after both countries threatened to withdraw from the entity, ….so why the disrespect for Barbados’ government minister who made no such threat….and Mia is silent…when you see that there is something else going on…but the parents are not stupid and their intelligence should not be insulted.

    ..let’s see what happens this week.

    notice that the fowls are very silent, another tell.


  61. Donna…all organizations have SATELLITE OFFICES…they would have separate offices in other jurisdictions…BARBADOS IS HEADQUARTERS….where all the evil shit originates…

    most people did not know that Barbados hosts that shitshow, that is why directed their anger at their local cxc reps…


  62. BTW…many kids who were marked down as ungraded or failed…upon review got 1s and 2s….if you know what your relatives are capable of you do not accept C(shit)C and their evil shit…..you go batshit crazy and go after them, that’s what you do..they are to be rejected AT ALL TIMES…….our children are not to be made and left systematically and calculatingly catatonic.

    they OWN ya shite ministers in Barbados, they are the only ones who have to accept them, lay in bed and dance with the devil and that’s what ya will get.

    hopefully your son will be sorted out this week..


  63. many kids who were marked down as ungraded or failed…upon review got 1s (SOME WITH DISTINCTION) and 2s.

    am not taking away one thing from these kids…

    as long as that devil cult knows that someone is on their ass…tomorrow is the 29th MFs.


  64. CXCs devil organization totally dessimated Guyana’s children, so just imagine Jamaica and other really vulnerable islands, if you know anyone there and you speak to them they will tell you….but they are not getting away with it, no other relatives of mine are to ever come crying to me again about a devil cult from the 1700s intellectually disenfranchising them, in this nor in any other lifetime.


  65. The decision to regrade would have to be made at headquarters not satellite offices. If they are regraded in one country, they would have to be regraded in all.

    I have not rushed to deal with my son’s erroneous returns. He’s not looking to enter any educational institution. I am letting those desperate children go first. We haven’t even picked up the certificates from last year yet.


  66. “BTW…many kids who were marked down as ungraded or failed…upon review got 1s and 2s”

    Failed? You mean missing; ungraded or missing.

    Changes in “fails” mean exams were regraded.

    But even more importantly, to move from a failed to Grade 1/2 is inconceivable. The reporting/grading system is seriously flawed.

    I suspect you mean missing.

    If I was in a leadership role at CXC, I would strenuously resist revision of existing grades. To have grade changing (on a large scale)


  67. “BTW…many kids who were marked down as ungraded or failed…upon review got 1s and 2s”

    Failed? You mean missing; ungraded or missing.

    Changes in “fails” mean exams were regraded.

    But even more importantly, to move from a failed to Grade 1/2 is inconceivable. The reporting/grading system is seriously flawed.

    I suspect you mean missing.

    If I was in a leadership role at CXC, I would strenuously resist revision of existing grades. To have grade changing (on a large scale) makes it a shot show.


  68. Wifey, a very smart woman, wonders if the grades also reflect the difference in ages of some teachers.

    A younger teacher may be able to use the computer more effectively than an older teacher. An older teacher may be covering the course, but may not make full use of the power of the computer.

    Just a thought.


  69. TheOGazertsSeptember 28, 2020 8:46 AM

    Wifey, a very smart woman, wonders if the grades also reflect the difference in ages of some teachers.

    A younger teacher may be able to use the computer more effectively than an older teacher. An older teacher may be covering the course, but may not make full use of the power of the computer.

    Just a thought.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    For your amusement!!


  70. Thanks a million. I shared the first with my son. The 8:00 a.m. is on the dot.

    The last one was impossible to reach, but I will Google.

    Thanks.


  71. TheO,

    What do you mean that you would resist regrading? Suppose the grades are unfair. We have ‘A’ profile students getting Grade 4s! Never heard of such!

    Are you not interested in getting it right?????

    This is twice lately you have been strangely illogical wrt students and their welfare.

    David,

    That is what I thought. No satellite offices. I don’t know what WURA is on about. CXC matters are handled through the MoEs.

    From the begining she prefaced her replies to me with “FYI” and “For future reference” and I wondered if I had been asleep and unaware since 1982.


  72. “The decision to regrade would have to be made at headquarters not satellite offices.”

    no need to make it more difficult than it needs to be, CXC HAS TO HAVE REPRESENTATIVES in every island….all concerns must be directed to those reps AND THEN REACH HEADQUARTERS in BARBADOS…it’s just like a banking organization, if you have an issue you take it up with your local branch who then……

    …..communicating directly with HEADQUARTERS is a LAST RESORT…..and best left to their reps in CXCs case… but.not to their jackass registrar…that IDIOT SHOULD BE FIRED…

    “I am letting those desperate children go first.”

    yep…some kids already got dropped by universities…

    “Changes in “fails” mean exams were regraded.”

    am sure you remember the minds of teenagers, who will see it as a fail and their parents who don’t understand would also, some kids got kicked out of their parents’ homes, until they realized it was not the kids, it’s that nasty organization destroying the families.


  73. “No satellite offices.”

    am an old corporate girl ok, it matters not….they MUST APPROACH THEIR LOCAL REPS FIRST..

    Grenada’s government said they communicated directly with CXC Grenada, Guyana said the same thing..


  74. Some students were told on Saturday to check the portals that they use and surprise, surprise, would you know it…ungraded SUDDENLY got the expected grades as per their marks through the last year… etc.

    i really don’t give a shit how they grade or whatever, i care ONLY that they DO NOT get away with this…


  75. Donna,
    Let me add a little more depth to my statement.

    I was not trying to be unfair to students, that is why I feel that a detailed explanation and grading must be provided for missing and ungraded exams.

    Changing of grades is a completely different matter. At the magnitude suggested here, this represents a complete failure of the system. A catastrophe. The answer sheets had incorrect answers; the graders were lazy/dishonest; the system is a sham?

    Then I begin to worry not only about this year, but about past years. About how many students over the years were wronged by a flawed marking system? How many children began to doubt themselves after giving their best, doing a good job and then be told they failed.

    I would not want to be part of that charade.

    If grades are changed then the administration needs to be sacked; all processes – exam creation, marking, grading … need to be examined with a microscope and remedied.

    I would not be hard on the students. If I was part of the fiasco (changing grades), I would resign. I would be hard on myself.

    I cannot believe that grades need changing as this represents a real failure of the system.


  76. Dear Devil Cult:

    aka C(shit)C freemason organization, you are free to meet me 12:00am at Gateway 11, you can’t miss me I will be right at the gate, but you will have to GET PASS ME….the African is OUT and ABOUT.

    Sincerely,
    Wuraola Oya


  77. THE CXC BOARD ORDERS INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF EXAM RESULTS
    Sep 28, 2020 | 0 |
    The CXC board orders independent review of exam results
    Chairman of the Board of the Caribbean Examinations Council, Professor Sir Hillary Beckles has announced there will be an independent review of the recent results issued by the regional examination body.

    In a statement this afternoon released by the CXC, Sir Hillary, the University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor disclosed that the CXC Registrar, Dr Wayne Wesley, and his team have met with regional Ministers of Education to discuss the concerns raised by parents and students across the region.

    Sir Hillary says this was in an effort to identify the underlying causes and provide clarity to their stakeholders.

    He says that while there might be policy and technical issues to be addressed immediately, the maintenance of public trust going forward is paramount.

    And, there will be ongoing dialogue with regional Ministries of Education based on the official gathering of data relevant to all concerns raised.

    Sir Hillary promises that every formally reported case will be reviewed and where remedies are required they will be applied.

    He praised management at CXC for their efforts to deliver regional exams during what he called the COVID-19 logistics nightmare, but said it was anticipated that given these specific challenges a period of review and possible revisions would follow.

    The CXC Chairman then announced that it has been agreed that an independent review team will shortly begin this work and present a report for discussion with relevant stakeholders.


  78. I could swear Hilary is also the Chair of the reparations committee drooling and salivating at the prospect of getting their hands on money by the trillions for the enslavement of OUR BLACK ANCESTORS….so how is he going to handle that one as chair with this one as evidence..


  79. Adults in England without an A-level or equivalent qualification will be offered a fully funded college course, the government has announced.

    The offer will be available from April and applies to courses offering “skills valued by employers”.

    In a speech on Tuesday, the PM will say that, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the government cannot “save every job” but wants to help people find new work.

    Labour said the plans would not reverse the impact of “a decade of cuts”.

    The government decision comes amid fears that unemployment is set to grow sharply.

    The Office for Budget Responsibility has said the unemployment rate could peak at between 9.7% to 13.2% in the next few years. The most recent rate – for May to July – is 4.1%.

    In his speech, Boris Johnson will say: “As the chancellor has said, we cannot, alas, save every job – what we can do is give people the skills to find and create new and better jobs.

    “We’re transforming the foundations of the skills system so that everyone has the chance to train and retrain.”….(Quote)


  80. ‘He says that while there might be policy and technical issues to be addressed immediately, the maintenance of public trust going forward is paramount.’

    I am doubtful if trust can or should be maintained if grades are changed.


  81. The parents want CXC GONE…don’t know what Hilary is talking about trust, no one trusts any of them, these uppity arrogant negros are fronts for freemason bullshit, they all have to be removed….right along with that devil cult…get CXC out of the Caribbean, let them slither off somewhere else with their track record of wickedness toward our families.

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2020/09/29/cxc-receives-legal-letter-querying-its-process/

    “Today’s decision by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) to review grades for the 2020 CSEC and CAPE exams, comes as legal pressure has mounted on the regional examinations body.

    The letter said if the request for the special meeting was not met, the members of the Council would be urging their governments to “collaborate with its regional counterparts to urgently convene such a meeting of the Council”.

    “For too long, CXC has operated without accountability and transparency, immune from judicial review and as a virtual monopoly, in disregard of the rights of students who are ultimately the consumers of its certification services,” Allahar wrote.

    “It is insulting that the CXC registrar has refused to give our Ministry of Education any information on the matriculation of the SBAs until after reviews are conducted, encouraging students to instead use the expensive review process,” he added.

    The lawyers contended that to ask students, in the current challenging economic circumstances, to come up with the required funds for a review is “a farce and is extremely irresponsible and arrogant”.

    “the letter continued.Due to the provisions of the CXC Act, Chapter 17:07, of Trinidad and Tobago, the CXC is immune from legal action in that jurisdiction”

    What the hell is a CXC Act and how could Trinidad be so damn stupid to agree to some parasitic cult organization that merely sucks on taxpayers annuallly through stupid governments, getting immunity from any legal action…..let’s see if Barbados dumbass corrupt governments also agreed to a variation of this complete idiocy in secret.


  82. Yes Hilary, tell the people that CXC reviews can take 5 YEARS AND OVER..bet you none of you mentioned that in ya little meeting, since we did not see the word EXPEDITE mentioned anywhere.


  83. “STATEMENT FROM THE CONCERNED PARENTS GROUP ON BEHALF OF THE REGION’S CHILDREN:

    The Lord blessed us with perfect weather for our protest on behalf of the region’s children on 28th Sept : cool, overcast, no sun, and approx 200 – 250 Attendees. The children and parents were well represented!

    We as parents will not stop our fierce, forceful and fearless advocacy for our region’s children, which began at the beginning of this regional crisis the awful evening of 22 September, when the results were released.

    The national media was fabulous and ensured that this demonstration against the debacle 2020 CXC results, which is of critical regional importance, received the coverage it deserved.

    Thank you to the RBPF: utterly responsive, professional and impressive.

    Our children were fantastic. They got into ‘good trouble’ and were taught an important life lesson: passivity. Is. Not. An. Option. Stand up and demand, respectfully and passionately, what you deserve, until you obtain it.

    Thank you to the parental team who made this protest happen virtually overnight. We will strategize for next steps, to ensure we obtain all our stated objectives: JUSTICE FOR OUR CHILDREN.

    All those working behind the Scenes executing a multifaceted strategy: thank you.

    We welcomed the news yesterday evening of further meetings by the regional Minsters of Education as they develop an optimal expedited resolution of this travesty.

    We thank Sir Hilary, Chairman of CXC, for his responsive acknowledgement of the regional concerns, and rapid confirmation that an INDEPENDENT investigation into what was clearly a systemic failure of the 2020 CXC examination process, will commence. Now THAT is leadership.

    While we welcome this progress, we await further information on details of this ‘independent review team’. Will this be the ‘external forensic audit’ we requested? Who will constitute this independent review? Will there be a cost to the public?

    What are the timelines for the completion of this independent investigation?

    When will the revised CAPE AND CSEC results be released? This needs to be expedited with deadlines set and communicated to the region.

    Sir Hilary’s statement refers to ‘each formally reported case will be reviewed’. Further information needs to be disseminated in this regard: what is the process of said formal report? What is the definition of ‘review’ ? CXC’s current definition of ‘review’ is merely a nominal tallying process. Will there be a cost to the public for this ‘review’?

    Expedited Deadlines need to be set and communicated for that re-evaluation (and NOT the CXC-normally defined review process)!! What do the students do in the interim? Some need to apply to Universities is the by 15th October!! Some students have already been asked to leave their university programmes based on their current, clearly erroneous, results!!

    CXC and CARICOM made these children suffer additional stress and take these exams, in the middle of a pandemic (which developed nations with far more resources than we do in CARICOM did not). Logistical challenges were inevitable, which we believe the region’s unions presciently warned of.

    The region’s children should not be victimised because of the decision made by CXC and CARICOM to proceed with these exams in the middle of a pandemic.

    We believe CXC has significant information already at its disposal to initiate regrading (based on the SBAs, teachers’ predicted scores and PAPER 1 results). Perhaps CXC should consider solely relying on this information and scrap the revised grading methodology and algorithm that was used for calculate and assign 2020 results, which clearly failed.

    Perhaps that would expedite the regrading process?

    And Dr Wesley: a prompt apology is needed Re your callous arrogant communication last week and the further trauma it gave to our children.

    Your personal and the CXC’s institutional credibility has been irredeemably damaged. The buck stops with you, Dr Wesley. Consider resigning as part of an attempt to restore credibility to the CXC. The CXC tail must no longer wag the CARICOM dog, sir. THE BUCK STOPS WITH YOU.

    This embarassing fiasco brings significant reputational damage to CXC on a regional and international level. CXC’s credibility, within the region and internationally, is at grave risk of being permanently damaged by this debacle.

    We fear for the emotional fragility of these affected children ACROSS THE REGION if the grades they worked so hard for are not immediately granted. Who will take the responsibility should the the unspeakable take place as a result of this travesty? Right now these children have hope; they need concrete, immediate results.

    A timely credible regional response by CXC – revised grades for those which are clearly erroneous – attuned to the needs of the students (as obtained in the UK during their A level results debacle) is imperative and the only acceptable solution to this fiasco.

    We will not rest until justice is obtained for our region’s children.

    #FixDemGrades”


  84. “Thanks for this. My only “objection” is that I don’t believe the response of Sir Hilary is any different from the Registrar, just dressed up differently. There is no aknowledgment that this is a systemic problem affecting students from Bahamas in the north to Guyana in the South. The position that “Each and every formally reported cases will be reviewed …. Blah, blah ..clearly shows this. These concerns are not individualised. Frankly I am deeply disappointed with the clearly inadequate and incomprehensible response by CXC, the chair of its Council and the MOE. Who will convene the independent review? The Same Council that failed to do it’s duty over the years? This situation did not arise overnight. Covid 19 just exposed the rot.”


  85. Then ya got the stinking lowlifes who got grades they did not earn keeping quiet because they will probably sue to keep it, despite knowing CXC did this and they are not entitled to any 1s exhibition/scholarships .

    “Agreed.

    I can only imagine the ‘ruckshun’ when those who got grade 1s erroneously get a lower grade .

    That might be why some schools (and parents) are quieter than others Re these results.

    What a mess CXC has created”

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