Government should oblige parents and guardians to pay for secondary level CXC exam subjects rather than blindly paying for these and losing the investment when students fail to write the exams. This wasteful subsidy must be put to an end.
All that needs to happen is that parents initially pay for their children to write CXC exams and if they pass the parents get refunded. That would motivate parents to get on their children to do well.
But as CXC exams are free for all neither children nor their parents are making the link that these exams cost money. Teachers are there to tell parents through reports and direct word of mouth if their kids do the work or are horsing around. So it’s not hard to find out which kids are deserving of state subsidisation.
The cost in US dollars and TT equivalent for CXC exams is as follows:
Candidate entry US$17.50 (TT$112.88);
Cost per subject US$17.50 (TT112.88);
Late entry US$22.50 - 37.50 (TT$145 - $242).
When some 30 per cent of CXC students across the country collectively fail to write or fail to pass CXC exams they are registered to write, that investment goes down the drain costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
That cost should be borne by parents and guardians.
B Joseph
