Rising cheating incidents in CSEC Exams: A call for Academic Integrity

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has revealed an alarming increase in cheating incidents during this year’s CSEC exams, as of 54 cases being reported.

The upscale has however drawn concerns on the credibility of the examination and the readiness of the students.

Speaking to the media, the Director of Operations at CXC, Dr Nicole Manning explained that this increase is the result of irregularities especially the use of cell phones. Manning has asserted that students have continued to engage in what he regarded as unfair means of candidature such as using their mobile phones to access stored information and communicating with other students during examinations.

Manning said this was in consideration of integrity and academic ethics while addressing the students. In light of the increasing cases of cheating, stakeholders who fund this organization, students receiving this qualification, and the public in general are raising questions about the values of CSEC qualification and the level of preparedness of candidates.

Reporting to the council, Manning said that sometimes students may not have been academically prepared enough, which may tempt them and easily lead them to cheat.

The increase in cases of unethical behaviour may mean that learners are unable to cope with the academic challenges they undergo, thus resulting through to lay down their papers. Manning observed that this ill-preparedness might also be among the causes that several students do not attend the exams at the first place.

From all around the Caribbean regions, performance in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) are moderately good. More importantly, the reports show that all the learners passed in French Unit Two, 97% passed in both physics Unit I and Unit II, and 96% in information technology Unit II.

Candidates continuing their studies in these subjects achieved high pass rates in CAPE exams indicating readiness to address issues of curriculum.

However, the recent low pass rate in CSEC mathematics examination remains a problem that cannot be looked the other way. CXC’s Registrar and CEO, Dr Wayne Wesley said he could not help but be disappointed by the performance in this foundational subject and called on stakeholders to take action to extricate this situation. Mathematics is one of the basic subjects, and the low results may lead to the future educational misfit and joblessness.

Hence, based on these findings, some of the activities that can help improve the credibility of the CSEC examination and the academic heritage of Caribbean students include accreditation of the academic preparatory of the students and the promotion of institutional integrity.