– to fund up to 8 CSEC subjects per student
President Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday announced that the Government of Guyana will fully fund the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) fees for at least eight Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects per student, as well as fees for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), benefiting both public and private school learners across the country.
The announcement was made during a public meeting at the West Demerara Secondary School, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) where the Head of State addressed a packed audience of students, parents, and teachers.
“Beginning this year, as I speak to you now, parents are preparing to pay for their children’s CXC fees. You are already putting aside the money, right? Well, I have good news for you. With effect from this year’s CXC, the government will pay in full. The government will pay in full the cost for at least 8 subjects for every single citizen, every single child, in the public and private lives of your family, in the lives of our community, in our future, in our children’s future, in our education system, and in building a prosperous, unified future for every single citizen,” the President announced.
Prior to the president’s announcement, the government provided subsidies for students in the public education sector writing CSEC. The subsidies were determined based on the financial position of parents/guardians.
Targeting students in Grades 11 through 13 at government secondary schools, the subsidy structure covered up to 10 subjects and extends support to both new and continuing students, including special provisions for trained teachers pursuing exams.
In a circular seen by this publication through the Ministry of Education, parents or guardians pay between $10,000 and $23,000 based on their annual income in subsidies. Notably, trained teachers with more than three years of experience also qualify for a flat rate of $17,000 in support.
With this in mind, President Ali noted that the policy is expected to benefit thousands of students annually and reduce dropout rates while boosting national performance at the CSEC level.
“These are the policies that we are embracing. This is the future that we are creating. We don’t need an event for us to invest in the people and their future. We are not a seasonal presence in your lives. Think about it and be fair. Whether it was the sugar sector under distress, the rice sector under distress, the public servants under distress, whatever it is, you can rely on us in the People’s Progressive Party Civic to represent your interests and represent the interests of every community,” Ali said.
The Guyanese leader’s announcement is part of the PPP/C Government’s broader efforts to improve access to education, and follows other major investments in school infrastructure, learning materials, and teacher support.
Further, it follows transformational policy initiatives, including free tertiary education at the University of Guyana, the implementation of the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Guyana Coders Initiative (GCI), among others.
The CSEC examinations are often called the CXC examinations as they were the only examinations offered by the CXC from 1979 until 1998. The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is the organizing body for CSEC and CAPE.
