The Guyanese students who will be writing examinations on the new dates will not be doing the same examination paper that would have been used in the other Caribbean states. A new examination paper will be set for them and the Government of Guyana will have to bear that cost. Photo: News Source

Last week when President Donald Ramotar announced May 11, 2015 as the date for national elections, concern was immediately raised about the clash with a number of CXC examinations at both the secondary and advanced levels, that were  billed for the same day.

At a Monday morning press conference, Education Minister Priya Manickchand made the announcement and said the decision was arrived at following consultations between the government and the Barbados based Caribbean Examination Council.

She said that with a number of schools being used as polling station, there was the need for the children to be writing their exams in a safe environment that would be away from any distraction.

The Guyanese students who will be writing examinations on the new dates will not be doing the same examination paper that would have been used in the other Caribbean states. A new examination paper will be set for them and the Government of Guyana will have to bear that cost.

CXC Registrar Glenroy Cumberbatch flew into Guyana from Barbados for a number of meetings with the Ministry of Education and local exam officials. He said he was pleased with the new arrangement since CXC would want to ensure that the students were writing their examinations in a conducive environment.

He said “if the schools are to be used as polling stations it meant it was not possible to have the two activities competing for the same space at the same time and therefore it was necessary to ensure that the candidates are not disadvantaged in any way on that given day”.