CXC deserves an overwhelming fail grade for the ad hoc manner in which the results of its June examinations were recently released. There was this great rush to release results online that CXC could not stick to its own calendar of events. Results for CAPE and CSEC were scheduled for release to the various ministries on August 10 and 17, respectively. Yet students were able to start accessing their CAPE results on the night of August 7. Students are already accessing their CSEC results. Why was there this great rush? Why didn't CXC not keep to its published schedule? Students were put into a general state of unease knowing that some were able to access results while others couldn't because the Web site was experiencing heavy traffic. They couldn't get it from schools because the schools were in the same dilemma.
Now I hear that students have been "tampering" with their results. I find it surprising that these documents, whether excel or pdf, could not have been password-protected to prevent editing. Why even give candidates access to an "original- looking" document in the first place? Amazingly, CXC seems to have "corrected" this oversight by removing the logo from the preslip and of course by issuing threats. Could someone please inform these 21st century decision-makers that the logo is easily available on the Internet. Anyone can copy and reinsert the logo into the document if they so desire. I am reminded of a term coined by one of my friends a few years ago to describe his general ignorance of new technology. He described himself as being "techno-dotish." It seemed funny at the time, but 20 years later, I can find no better word to describe the people responsible for CXC's misadventure into the world of technology.
Fairaz Mohammed
Via e-mail
