JIS: More than $600 million has been allocated by the Education, Youth and Information Ministry to pay examination fees for high-school students who are on the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), next year.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Grace McLean, told JIS News that more than $400 million has been provided by the Ministry to pay for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).
A further $200 million, she said, has been made available to pay for City and Guilds, National Vocational Qualification of Jamaica (NVQ-J) and the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) examinations.
“We’re just about sending information out to the schools for them to start the registration for CSEC,” the Permanent Secretary said.
Dr. McLean was providing an update, following a press briefing on government funding for additional Bachelor of Medicine (MBBS) students, held at the University of the West Indies, Mona, and St. Andrew, on Thursday (September 5).
“For the CSEC registration… it starts with the Ministry sending to the schools the number of subjects that we are going to be paying for and the criteria to be observed,” she said.
“When they do their registration, which is due sometime in October, that is submitted. We then do the review and send off the information to the Overseas Examinations Commission for full registration and payment,” Dr, McLean noted.
The Government in 2017 announced that it would pay examination fees for up to eight CSEC subjects for PATH students who qualify to sit the subjects.
Subsidies are also provided for PATH students sitting three CAPE subjects, as well as the CVQ and NVQ-J tests and Mathematics and English Language in the City and Guilds examination.
Students are required to have an average of 55 per cent in each subject to qualify for the subsidies.
CAPTION: Minister with responsibility for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Karl Samuda, greets Acting Permanent Secretary, Dr Grace McLean, at a press briefing on Government funding for additional MBBS students, held at the University of the West Indies, Mona, St. Andrew, on Thursday (September 5).