The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has reported overwhelming regional interest in its newly launched Caribbean Targeted Education Certificate (CTEC) program, with enrollment figures dramatically surpassing initial projections. During the organization’s first press conference of the year, Registrar and CEO Dr. Wayne Wesley announced that the innovative program had attracted 6,443 candidates across all 13 member states, far exceeding the anticipated 3,000 participants for the pilot phase.
The CTEC initiative represents a significant departure from traditional educational assessment models by introducing a modular qualification system. This approach deconstructs conventional CSEC and CAPE subjects into smaller, more manageable units, granting students unprecedented flexibility in pursuing certification. The program offers three distinct pathways—accelerated, general, and extended—ensuring broader accessibility and increased certification opportunities while maintaining the established syllabus with a renewed emphasis on competency-based evaluation.
Alton McPherson, Senior Manager of Examinations Development and Production at CXC, provided detailed operational insights into the pilot program’s implementation. The council will conduct its initial pilot in Mathematics Module One during the May/June 2026 examination period, with participation confirmed across 13 territories including Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, and several Eastern Caribbean nations.
The comprehensive implementation strategy involves candidate orientation on the Surpass digital platform from January to March 2026, followed by extensive preparation activities through April. The assessment approach will combine electronic testing for Paper 1 with a hybrid methodology for Paper 2. CXC has allocated July and August for final assessments, data collection, and qualitative feedback analysis to ensure seamless full-scale implementation in June 2027. Results will be released concurrently with traditional CSEC outcomes in August 2026.
Jamaica emerges as a significant participant with 1,334 candidates distributed across nine examination centers, demonstrating the program’s substantial regional penetration and highlighting the Caribbean’s readiness for educational innovation.