New CAPE subjects coming

COME September 2013, students will be given new choices as the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is going to be launching new Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects.

This was mentioned by CXC Registrar, Dr. Didacus Jules, recently. He delivered the University in the Community Lunchtime Lecture on the theme, “The Challenges of Education in the Contemporary Caribbean”, at the Grand Salle in Barbados.

CXC Registrar, Dr. Didacus Jules.

Dr. Jules announced that the three new subjects to be added to the CAPE roster come next September are Tourism, Entrepreneurship and Digital Media.

“One of them is CAPE Tourism, which is not just your normal tourism product, but looks at opportunities at entrepreneurship for students wanting to fit into the tourism product to add value at a local and community level,” Jules stated.

Entrepreneurship is a term and idea that has garnered much attention in recent years, so it is fitting that CXC should offer students the opportunity to learn about it from a young age.

“We are looking at CAPE Entrepreneurship, which would help students in a very experiential approach to the teaching of entrepreneurship, to be equipped to set up and understand the world of business,” the CXC Registrar said.

 A large crowd of interested people turned up to listen
to the University in the Community Lunchtime Lecture.

The CAPE Digital Media will, like the other two subjects, address an area that has experienced a growth spurt in terms of interest in recent times, and will provide students with a lot of practical experience.

“For me the most exciting one is CAPE Digital Media, which will involve modules in gaming and film… Interestingly, and as a departure from our usual form of assessment where the SBA [School Based Assessment] constitutes 40 per cent of the grade, in the CAPE Digital Media, the SBA is going to be 60 per cent of the grade and the exam will be 40 per cent,” Jules stated.

He further explained that for the CAPE Digital Media SBA, students will be required to produce short film, design a game and actually produce a mobile app.

“It is going to be really exciting and I think we are going to see changes because where student interest is peaked and there is a convergence between the aims of education and the aspiration of the individual, we see a difference,” Jules added. (AN)