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7. Dr McLean insisted that the Report did not give the impression that it was open to dialogue.
She expressed that CXC, as an examination body, had a right to take a position in its wisdom and
therefore no advice was given to the Minister to contest the decision taken by CXC. Dr McLean,
however stated that she was encouraged by the Chairman’s comments. She informed the SUBSEC
that she would pass information on to the Permanent Secretary and the Minister to respond to CXC
as expected by the Chairman.

8. The Pro-Registrar reminded members that, at the last meeting, it was agreed that the Report
would be forwarded to the Minister and that CXC would await feedback before presenting to the
SUBSEC. Members heard that CXC had not yet received feedback from the Ministry of
Education, Jamaica, as a result, a paper was not presented for discussion.

Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQ) Handbook

9. It was reported that, on request, a soft copy of the CVQ Handbook was sent to St. Lucia in
June 2016 and that subsequently all territories should have received a copy. Dr McLean enquired
whether hard copies of the handbook were currently available to stakeholders. The Registrar
informed the SUBSEC that as a result of the CXC rebranding, the handbook had been converted
to a flipbook and has been made available in that format on the organization’s website.

NotesMaster

10. Dr McLean enquired whether there was further discussion with NotesMaster regarding the
user-friendly nature of the platform. The Registrar informed the SUBSEC that CXC would be
meeting with representatives of NotesMaster in November 2016 and concerns raised would be
shared at that meeting.

Report on Online Pre-Testing

11. The SUBSEC heard that evaluation discussions were held on the online pre-testing activity
conducted in April 2016. The focus was on options available to CXC as well as the organization’s
preferred way forwarded. Members heard that based on feedback and discussions with territories,
CXC had chosen Option 2 which states that territories could come on board with select subjects
for e-testing. However, all centres and all candidates must sit the selected subject(s) via the
electronic platform. Members also heard that at a meeting with technical representatives from
each territory, Ministry personnel and Local Registrars there was expressed appreciation for e-
testing and continued support.

12. Mr Marcus Edward, St. Lucia representative informed the SUBSEC that, in order to
efficiently manage e-testing, St. Lucia would need to move all candidates sitting a particular
subject to one centre where the requisite standardized computers were available. He added that
subjects with larger groups of candidates would present a problem as different types of devices
would need to be utilized and that may give rise to compatibility issues. He opined that even with
the option put forward, there would still need to be follow-up and review. The Registrar informed
the SUBSEC that if a country does not have sufficient devices/machines, the option for paper-
based examination would still be available and should be exercised. He explained that based on
the varying stages of readiness in each country, logistically Option 2 was best.

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