The Ministry of Education has written to various high schools across the country to inform them that this year they will not be assisting any students in paying for their CXC’s. In 2014 and for every year thereafter until now, the previous UDP administration had taken on the responsibility of paying for students taking up to six CXC’s per year. The students would then be responsible for paying for any additional exams which they took. Needless to say, the move was one which was greatly appreciated by thousands of students who saw great financial relief in the amount that they had to pay for taking the external exams.
The practice has now come to an end and students and parents are now faced with the additional expense of having to pay for all the CXC’s which are taken. There is no justification for the discontinuing of the assistance or any indication if it is going to continue albeit in a scaled down manner. For now, the assistance is gone and with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and financial hardships that it has brought on, thousands of students will find it extremely difficult to be able to cover all their CXC expenses.
