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Ms. Deborah Martin, Alternate Representative, APGSS, Principal, Sadie Vernon Technical
High School

The CXC National Committee appointed to serve for the Triennium March 2014 to February 2017
completed its tenure and received letters of appreciation. Thereafter, a new Committee for the 2017 –
2020 Triennium was appointed by Dr. Carol Babb, Chief Education Officer. As indicated in the list
above, the new Committee is made up of some former and several new members as selected by the
respective constituents of our National Committee – namely, Mr. Ervin Casimiro from the APGSS,
Mr. Omar Longsworth representing the BAPSS, and Dr. June Young from UB. We are extremely
grateful to those who continue to work as partners in promoting CXC at the national level and giving
support to the work of the CXC Local Registrar.

A sincere debt of gratitude is owed to our former Local Registrar, Mr. Juan Vargas who retired on June
1, 2017 after providing stellar and dedicated service during his ten-year tenure. Mr. Vargas was
meticulous in the completion of his duties and set a high standard for himself and his staff. His
attention to detail will be missed. The National Committee expresses sincere thanks to him and best
wishes in all his future undertakings.

2.0 Meetings

The CXC National Committee of Belize held three regular meetings during the period of this report.
At these meetings Committee members were kept abreast of recent developments within CXC and
sought to address issues related to the administration of the examinations in Belize and the
performance of candidates from Belize. The Committee members expressed concern over the high
rate of non-submission of SBA assignments by high schools in Belize. In an effort to address this
problem, the Committee organized a special School Based Assessment (SBA) Workshop in October,
2016 which was attended by a specially selected cross-section of schools and members of the National
Committee. During the session, which was facilitated by the Chair and the Local Registrar, the
definition and purpose of the SBA, regulations and statistics on submission were reviewed. Schools
with exemplary records presented best practices and all participants shared in a lively discussion of
challenges related to the completion and submission of assignments. As a result of the workshop, a list
of recommendations and strategies for submitting SBA grades was shared with all schools in the
country.

As in previous years, the Committee was instrumental in the preparation of the CXC National Awards
Ceremony and in advising the Ministry of Education on pertinent CXC related matters.

3.0 CXC National Awards Ceremony

The Twenty-second Annual CXC National Awards Ceremony was held on November 23, 2016 at
the St. Catherine Academy Auditorium in Belize City, to recognize candidates with outstanding
performance in the May-June 2016 sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC)
examinations and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).

The new criteria for identifying and selecting candidates which was approved by the Sub-Committee
of the School Examinations Committee (SUBSEC) in its October 2015 meeting (effective as of 2016)
was used to identify the students eligible to receive Certificates of Excellence and Achievement. The
number of students awarded for the May-June 2016 CSEC examinations totaled one thousand one
hundred and eighty-seven (1,187), an increase of 24 students over the one thousand one hundred sixty-
three (1,163) students in 2015. Three hundred and sixty-six (366) students received Certificates of

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