The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) recently marked a “landmark success” with its first fully digital and hybrid examination cycle in January 2026. While the transition signals a bold leap toward modernisation, it also exposes a widening digital divide. We discuss balancing the technological ambition with the ground-level realities of the Caribbean classroom.

 

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) recently celebrated a historic milestone with the successful completion of its first fully electronic and hybrid examination cycle in January 2026. While the achievement signals a bold leap into the future of regional assessment, it also shines a spotlight on the persistent “digital divide” that continues to challenge schools across the Caribbean.

 

A landmark achievement

According to reports from Barbados Today and the Antigua Observer, the January 2026 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) sitting saw over 10,481 candidates from 17 territories participate, with 96% of subject entries being administered electronically. CXC Registrar and CEO, Dr Wayne Wesley, described the session as a “landmark moment,” noting that even the severe disruptions of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica did not derail the transition.

The council utilised a “hybrid” model to ensure resilience—where questions were delivered digitally, but responses for certain subjects could still be written manually if necessary. This flexibility proved vital, especially in Jamaica, where 708 subject entries were permitted to use traditional paper formats as a humanitarian consideration following the storm.

 

The readiness gap

Despite the high-level success at the January 2026 sitting, the rollout has highlighted significant structural hurdles. Although Dr Wesley asserted that Caribbean students are digital natives and ready for this shift from paper-based to electronic (e-)testing, the reality on the ground cannot be ignored:

  • Connectivity and electricity challenges. During the January sitting, isolated technical challenges, including internet outages and electrical failures, were experienced. Although CXC worked with utility providers to minimise these disruptions, many rural and underfunded schools across the region still lack the stable, high-speed broadband internet and power supply necessary for seamless e-testing.
  • Device scarcity. A high proportion of schools continue to operate with a limited number of suitable computing devices for students and teachers. Hence, the extent to which teachers can apply digital pedagogy is often limited. Further, a still large proportion of students across the region—even when expected to be digital natives— may still have limited exposure to technology, and so not be as proficient in its use, especially under examination conditions.
  • Limited teacher proficiency. The transition to e-learning is not just a hardware issue but a human one. Many teachers across the region are still gaining proficiency in digital pedagogy. Without sustained professional development, the move to electronic testing risks outpacing the classroom’s ability to prepare students for it.
  • E-Testing scalability challenges. Although over 10,000 candidates completed over 17,500 subject entries during the January 2026 CSEC examinations, these figures pale in comparison to the June examination sitting, where over 100,000 students and over 500,000 subject entries must be managed. There must thus be concern about CXC’s and the participating countries’ ability to scale the infrastructure and the attendant services to comprehensively implement e-testing across the Caribbean region for a May/June examination session. Without a doubt, the challenges noted during the recently concluded January examination would increase and are likely to be more complex in terms of the issues and the coordination and management required under examination conditions.

 

Navigating the path forward

The CXC has expressed its intent to make all examinations fully digital within the next three to five years. This ambitious timeline serves as a clarion call for regional governments and the private sector to accelerate investments in educational infrastructure.

However, for the digital transition to be truly equitable, the focus must shift from the “success” of the examination platform to the “readiness” of the local school environment. In other words, success at CXC’s headquarters in Bridgetown must be matched by reliable and accessible internet access and suitable digital devices in classrooms from rural Belize to the hinterlands of Guyana. As the region prepares for the larger May-June exam cycle, the lessons of January serve as both an inspiration and a sobering reminder of the work left to do.

 

 

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