Over 100,000 students registered for 2025 CXC exams across the Caribbean – Registrar

More than 100,000 candidates from across the Caribbean have registered to sit the 2025 examinations of the May–June Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), according to Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Dr Wayne Wesley.
These students would collectively submit over 600,000 subject entries, marking another “mammoth undertaking” for the region’s premier certifying body.

Dr Wesley delivered the update during a virtual press conference held on April 15 at the CXC Headquarters in Barbados, which also marked the official start of the 2025 examination period with oral assessments in modern foreign languages.
“We are equal to the task,” said Dr. Wesley, commending the hard work of the CXC team, especially the Examinations Services Division led by Dr. Nicole Manning. “Everything is in place for the successful administration of the examinations.”
During his address, the Registrar emphasised CXC’s renewed commitment to “Duty of Care”, highlighting the importance of high-quality service delivery to a wide range of stakeholders, including students, parents, educators, governments, and civil society.
“We are committed to reorganizing and improving operational processes to deliver higher levels of customer service,” he said as he encouraged students to remain calm and confident as they enter this crucial phase of their academic journey.
A major announcement came in the form of CXC’s full transition to electronic examinations for the January 2026 session, with all assessments to be administered either through e-Assessment or Hybrid e-Assessment formats. Traditional paper-based testing would remain available only during the May-June sittings.
This move is part of the Council’s broader digital transformation strategy, which also includes greater integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education systems, aimed at enhancing student learning experiences and competency acquisition.
Dr. Wesley outlined a three-pronged strategic repositioning framework to ensure CXC’s continued relevance and sustainability in a rapidly evolving global education landscape.

Free education
President Dr Irfaan Ali announced, on April 10, 2025, that the Government of Guyana would 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), benefitting both public and private school learners across the country.
The announcement was made during a public meeting at the West Demerara Secondary School in 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 extended support to both new and continuing students, including providing 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.