There will be two different practical papers in the Caribbean Examination Council’s Information Technology test next June, which should allow schools with a large number of IT students to divide them into two separate groups.

They will therefore sit the examination over two days, instead of one.

Chief education officer in the ministry of education, youth and culture, Wesley Barrett, told JIS News that the “alternate” IT practical paper in the CXC’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination should provide a solution to the problem of the growing number of IT students competing for the limited computers available in most schools.

“We don’t have enough machines for all students to do the examination at once, so we have to do it in shifts. We’ve tried various ways to get around that problem but the number (of candidates) have been rising faster than the schools have been obtaining machines,” Barrett said.

He pointed out that the “alternate” practical paper would have different questions, but would be of the same standard.

Previously, he said, the IT practical took place in one day, but schools without an adequate supply of computers would divide the number of students in two or three groups. They would then “quarantine” the first and second groups to prevent any leakage of the questions to those students waiting to take the examination later that day.

The decision for an alternate practical paper came after Barrett made a request at a meeting of the CXC council in Trinidad on December 5.

In June this year, 5,759 Jamaican students sat the written and practical papers of the CSEC Information Technology (IT) examination. This number was a 24 per cent increase from the 4,628 who sat the examination in 2002 and a 50 per cent increase over those who sat it in 2001.

In most schools, said Hector Stephenson, CXC’s executive director, there have been at least twice as many students as computers.

“There may have been a few cases where they may have had to do the examination in three different groups,” he told JIS News. “We sent out a policy statement that this should not happen for 2004. We are hoping we will have no more than two sittings in a day and in those schools with a large number of candidates, the examination will be done over two days.”

Barrett said a letter would be sent to schools soon, advising them of the alternate examination.