Jamaica Local Examinations-Proposed Changes - The National ...

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·' "·~ .. ~ .... ..The Jamaic a Local Examinations ha d their genesis in the lastquarter of the Nineteenth Century, when t hey were known as Pupil Teachers'From their inception, they were i dentifi ed with the fieldof teacher recruitment , and in the first ins t a nce confined to pupil teachers .;Volunteer 1 candidates were later allowed to sit t he examinations. Duringt he nineteen-thirties , the name was c han ged to t he Jama ica Localand since then from 11,000 t o 1 4 , 000 candidates have sat each year .Examination:':5. Be t ween 1 95 2 a nd 1954 the the n Education Department , r ealisingt he need for change , appointed a r epresentativ e committee whic h , afterdeliberating , r ecommended the introduction of the First and Second JamaicaCertificate of Education Examinations.When t hc.:>o examinations we r e introducedin 1955 and 1 956 t he int ention was that they should eventually rep l acethe Fir s t ,Second and Third J amaica Local. It is interesting to note thatproposals were made a t t he time for correcting two of the most seriousde f i ciencies in the Local examinations arrangements .Special classes shou l dbe encouraged so t hat students who had already l eft the primary s chool wouldb e affo r ded better facil itie s for obtaining ins truction, and the scheme andsyll abus were design e d to conform with modern educa tiona l thinking . What wascontempl a ted was no t f ulfi lled .Not more t ha n 250 persons sit the firstc ertificate eac h year and only a bout 35 take the second .Teaching facilitie sr emain i nadequate and , besides, there is little doubt that widened grammarschool opportunities s ince 1957 have divert e d many prospective pupils.The Hew Scheme.6. Whatever the deficiencies of the past , it is essential for thevast majority of primary, all-age and s enior school pupils to be providedwith a syst em of testing which is compatible with t he r e -organi sed educationaprogramme and the country's e conomic a nd soci a l development .considered alongside the justifiable criticisms of the Jama i ca LocalWhen this i sExamina tions as s e t out in par agraph 4 of the C01mnittee 's Repor t , the basicor fundamentalchanges whic h arc now proposed can be seen in true perspectiveDe cisions have been t al;: en which will ensure the following(a) The abolition of the existing local examina tions ,namely, t he First, Second and Third J amaica Loca l;and the First and Se cond Jamaica Certific a t e ofEducation.(b) The substitution o f -(i) a School Leaving Examina tion for p upils of1 5 years who att end Senior School s and theSenior Departments of all-ago schools;(ii) The Jamaica Ge n e r al Cer t ificate , which wouldbe at a l evel somewher e bet ween the existingThird Jamaic a Local and the General Certificateof Education (Ordinary)i(It will b e observedthat the Commit t e e's nomenclature of 11 The J amaica/TYl r . "'1'; ,, /! -i !:': + r:.
- 3 -Intermedia t e Certifica te 11 has beendiscarded in f a vour of the ;'JamaicaGe neral Certi ficat e" ) .(c)and provis ion for craft examinations a nd f a cil itiesf or s chool l e avers to underta k e par t - t ime s tudiestowar ds t he J amaic a Ge ner a l Certifica t e Examina tion .J_h_ :;_.:_S~ hoo l Leaving Certi fica t e .!_c_g_l: l ~!l:Y .. .?-.r:tj__c.:_?_t~lJl l E;~-~:.._S. _~ hoo l in g at the age of 15 a t .§'1-__ s e l:!:_~_
Page 1 and 2: .. ./Brief Historv.. -:- -~MipiSTRY
Page 4 and 5: - 7-(a)(b)(c)(d)the examination sho
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Page 8 and 9: ---11 '""These exaoinations are of
Page 12 and 13: - 4 -institutes so as to ensure tha
Page 14 and 15: t ! i ..Hori. Minister of Educ a ti
Page 16 and 17: youngpeople,and of an acceptable s

Jamaica Local Examinations-Proposed Changes - The National ...

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