The registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Board has reinforced the importance of the Caribbean Certificate Secondary Level Competence program (CCSLC).

In 2009, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC), introduced CCSLC to stakeholders.

The program has since been integrated into secondary schools island wide. However, according to Glenroy Cumberbatch, Registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council, many students and parents still do not fully comprehend the importance of the program.

“On average, each student across the region writes about three subjects at CXC, which could mean that you leave school with one certificate, with no certificates, with two certificates and at no stage will you have any evidence of any competencies that you developed at any point in your school life, outside of the school. So this is an opportunity for people to have some kind of qualification that demonstrates the level of competence attained while at school.”

Mr. Cumberbatch stressed that the program also aids in the formation of skills needed to gain employment.

“Once you have completed the program, you have developed a set of competencies and in particular the soft skills that the employers say that they want - skills in communication, team work, problem solving, and critical thinking.”

The CCSLC program was designed for students in Forms 1 - 3.