‘Parents are the largest advocacy group and constituency in the world. They do not know the power to effect change that they have.’ Samuel Strann, Oaktree International Institute, Trinidad & Tobago education stakeholder
There has been a significant breakthrough at the CARICOM Heads of Government (HoG) level, demonstrated by the recognition of the value and validity of parental perspectives.
We were invited by CARICOM Chair Prime Minister Mottley to make a presentation to the CARICOM Heads of Government, detailing parental concerns, with focus on CXC matters, regarding the challenges in CARICOM’s education systems.
CARICOM education was identified as ‘in shambles’ by PM Mottley in her opening remarks to the 2025 CARICOM Heads of Government Conference. World Bank Caribbean Director Lilia Burunciuc recently stated that CARICOM’s education was ‘in crisis’.
The complex challenges in our educational systems obviously do not solely emanate from CXC. The home and family, sensory and neurodivergent learning challenges, community, socio-economic factors, and others, often determine education success.
School infrastructure, outdated curricula and budgetary constraints can impact education outcomes negatively. Decisive leadership and accountability at the Governmental and school level, principals and teachers, are prerequisites for improvements.
Real education transformation cannot be truly effective if tangible improvement is not made both externally in the ‘CARICOM education ecosystem’, and internally within CXC’s operation. The components of our education systems that are within the control of our governments must be subject to continuous scrutiny and improvement in a coordinated regional effort wherever feasible.
Of course, the parental role is essential. We are exceedingly grateful that PM Mottley kept her Sept 2024 commitment to our region’s people that education would be on the front burner during this CARICOM HoG meeting. In so doing, we are deeply appreciative that the HoG collectively recognised the importance, value and validity of our parental perspective, as evidenced by our inclusion in such an august assembly.
The announcement of the CARICOM Education Transformation Commission is a potential gamechanger.
This presentation to the HoG included specific data collated by CARICOM’s parents, students, teachers, and principals, and opinions from independent expert testing consultants including US-based Harvard-educated Barbadian Dr Michael Clarke. It documented the past five years of suboptimal performance by CXC in: governance, lack of focus on student fairness, clear challenges in the quality assurance in grading and exam questions, insufficient accountability and communication with key education stakeholders.
The current governance model, which seems to result in effective self-regulation and very limited accountability by CXC, is no longer fit for purpose.
CXC’s existence is funded by CARICOM citizens. Its raison d’etre is supposed to be, one of fairness to the region’s children, one of the core testing principles. Current public perception is instead that CXC’s current culture manifests in a focus on its operational ease and profit.
I reminded of the 21st Century right in the pursuit of natural justice for students and parents to engage directly with CXC. If international conventions require CXC to be effectively shielded from virtually all legal accountability, fair conflict resolution mechanisms are needed.
It was confirmed that regional parent advocacy groups are pursuing a more formalised CARICOM-wide association. I also reiterated that both our groups stand ready to collaborate with CARICOM to make this CARICOM-wide coordination a reality to better optimise national and regional education transformation.
It has long been our position that parents and children’s perspectives must be included in strategic planning, decision making and implementation. The vital importance of diversity of perspective, and their inclusion, in executive planning is well documented.
We parents feel vindicated, and are therefore energised, to further pursue our advocacy for parents’ and children’s rights to be heard. We look forward to being an integral part of a collaborative translation of this highest-level political recognition into tangible change and results, for the enduring benefit of CARICOM’s children.
The consequences of inaction
CARICOM is at grave risk of being insufficiently mindful of the frustration, disillusionment and disengagement of our children, due to their negative education experiences – those who need learning support, and those who are academically proficient. The virtual necessity for private lessons to ensure CXC exam success, which disadvantages the poor; CARICOM’s 36 per cent pass rate of 2024 CSEC Maths, which was not an anomaly; the 4.9 per cent of the 200,000 2024 CSEC candidates who obtained five subjects including Maths and English Language; the persistent reports of unresolved CXC’s flawed grading and exam questions; the recycling of multiple choice exam questions, are further evidence that CARICOM’s education system, needs overhaul. We are enduring an exponential increase in brain flight and crime, and widening of the socioeconomic divide in education, as the privileged one per cent flee public education for local private schools and boarding schools abroad. Decades post-independence, CARICOM should not be experiencing a widening of this education chasm between ‘the haves and have-nots’.
The very reputation and credibility of our CARICOM region, as part of the global community of best practice in education and testing, have been tested and found wanting. As the President of the Caribbean Union of Teachers Dr Garth Anderson said in 2020: ‘COVID revealed the pre-existing comorbidities in (CARICOM’s) education’. These challenges neither start, nor solely reside, with the management of CXC; a comprehensive review and strategy is needed.
We note the significant change to the Barbados Ministry of Education, including the new Ministry of Educational Transformation. The name of the ministry sends a strong signal of its mandate; we parents are essential in achieving feasible change. We welcome future communication and clarity on the structure and objectives of the two apparent new education ministries. The recent statement by the Barbados Union of Teachers, which called for clarity regarding the new education ministries is endorsed by many parents. We wish the former Minister of Education Ms Kay McConney all the best in her future endeavours. Congratulations are also extended to the new Ministers Sandra Husbands and Senator Chad Blackman, on their new responsibilities.
The time is past due to pull back from the brink of this CARICOM ‘education crisis’ and ‘shambles’.
It clearly cannot be business as usual, if CARICOM is truly serious about education transformation. However, we must also be mindful that the change is not rushed, and accords with both business management and pedagogical best practice. Transformation of education must also be governed by the realities of resource constraints, while respecting parental preferences and cultural norms. We cannot afford that this change creates more problems than it fixes, and we cannot afford for the good in our education system to be tampered with.
Parents must recognise their power and right to represent their children’s best interests in education, and be unafraid to do so.
Paula-Anne Moore is a parent advocate and the spokesperson and coordinator of the Group of Concerned Parents of Barbados/Caribbean Coalition for Exam Redress Telephone: 246 266 0296
Email: paulaannemoore00@gmail.com
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