Howard A. Campbell, Contributor
IN LESS than a month the Sesame (CSME) will become a reality. Apologies for the pronunciation, it is the closest I could get it in print. If I had done otherwise, I would have run the risk of making the mistake that the vast majority of my regional counterparts continue to make, albeit of a somewhat different hue.
The birth certificate of the CSME (the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas) clearly established the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and not the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (Sesame). It would be really nice if we could all start calling the Sesame, I mean CSME, by its proper name. CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
A REALITY BY JANUARY
From all indications, the CARICOM Single Market will be a reality by January 2005. During the past few weeks, there has been a flurry of activity attendant to the establishment of the CSME. On the local scene, quite a bit of public education and other public relations-type goings-on have been undertaken.
In fact, Prime Minister Patterson announced recently that an agreement bringing the CSME into being between Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados will be signed on January 5, 2005, in Bridgetown, Barbados. CSME will be a single enlarged economic space created through the removal of restrictions and resulting in the free movement of goods, services, persons, capital, and technology. It confers the right on CARICOM nationals to establish business in any CARICOM member state and to be treated in the same manner as a national of that state. A number of immediate benefits are being touted, one of which is the free movement of labour in and out of the participating territories. More specifically as it relates to the movement of persons, the treaty speaks to approved categories of wage earners (skilled persons) that do not require work permits. These include University graduates, Media workers, Artistes, Sportspersons and Musicians. Whilst there are other categories, each of these, for the most part, are composed of persons who have undergone specialised training or have otherwise developed a marketable skill.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago, the twin-island republic, recognising the importance of the issues posed by the CSME has set a strategic objective to develop a human resource base to produce a competent, productive and knowledgeable workforce. Already, the oil-rich state is in good standing as each year, their secondary school system produces more trainable persons per capita than both Jamaica and Guyana. What this means is that, potentially, there may be a net outflow of persons from Trinidad into Jamaica, a situation quite similar to that which obtains with trade where Jamaica has a massive trade deficit with the soca capital of the Caribbean.
A GIANT LEAP
Speaking at the launch of his book - We Want Justice recently, Senator Delano Franklyn compared the lack of faith and confidence exhibited in the Caribbean Court of Justice in some quarters with those that existed with regard to the implementation of the CXC in the 1970s. Sixteen governments took the bold move just over 30 years ago, a giant leap towards regional integration. The CXC was established in 1972 under Agreement by the participating governments in the area to conduct such examinations as it may think appropriate and award certificates and diplomas on the results of any such examinations so conducted. The CXC has come of age, associate degrees and all. In its most recent administration of its Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC), a total of 132,174 candidates drawn from 19 territories participated in the examinations. Four territories - Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana and Barbados account for a shade under 88 per cent of the candidacy. The remaining 15 territories register just over 12 per cent. In fact, there are nine territories with combined candidacies representing less than one per cent. The Regional Academic Olympics
May 10, 2004 marked the start of the 26th staging of the CXC CSEC May/June Examinations. For ease of sharing some statistics, we are going to liken the examinations to the Summer Olympics. As such, for the purpose of this discussion, the examinations have been re-branded the Regional Academic Olympics.
Nineteen countries, 27 days of competition, 33 events, hundreds of venues, more than 130,000 athletes. Perfectly organised, perfectly synchronised. Each event had straight finals staged simultaneously at scores of venues on the different islands. The best part of the games was the medals. Medals, medals and more medals. Just imagine each contestant having had the opportunity of gaining a gold medal (a grade I) for each of the events (subjects) for which they registered. Even if the gold was missed due to some mishap then there were unlimited silver medals, and bronze. If we likened the overall results of the CXC CSEC examinations to a 100m race the following would be the result:
Trinidad would have won the race in a record time of 10 seconds flat
Barbados would have secured the silver in a time of 11.13 seconds
Guyana would have failed to medal as they were beaten by Jamaica to cop the bronze in a time of 15.21. (See Table)
OVERALL RESULTS FOR THE REGIONAL ACADEMIC OLYMPICS
When Trinidad burst the tape, both Jamaica and Guyana were not yet at the 50m mark. Interestingly, based on Guyana's reaction time of 0.046 seconds, you will note that they were first out of the blocks. In real terms, the reaction time simply indicates the percentage of candidates who, having registered, did not write the exam. At just under five per cent, Guyana had a better showing than the other territories. Trinidad & Tobago was next, followed by Jamaica then Barbados. The Stellar Events
Mathematics, English A, Social Studies and Information Technology can be considered the stellar events of the Regional Academic Olympics. This is so for reasons that are many and varied. For one, Mathematics and English are the only two subjects that are compulsory across all the territories (screening aside). Secondly, Social Studies and Information Technology are the subjects with the fastest growth rate. These subjects can be likened unto the men and women's sprint doubles. These four subjects aside, the business subjects (Principles of Accounts, Principles of Business and Office Procedures) are very popular and have a stature in the games somewhat akin to the sprint relays. This is possibly the rationale for the Council approving a Certificate in Business Studies. The Certificate in Business Studies will be based on a cluster of five CSEC Business Education subjects, including English A and Mathematics as compulsory subjects.
FINAL MEDAL TALLY
If we look at the overall medal tally at the end of 33 finals, Trinidad is way out front with 30 medals - 16 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze. The Bajans, at 63 points from 28 medals turned in a good performance to end the games in second position. With a mere seven per cent of the examination population, the island has the enviable position of having the most medals per capita. Just two medals behind Trinidad and six ahead of Jamaica, Barbados copped the gold medal for the four stellar events - Mathematics, English A, Social Studies and Information Technology. Jamaica failed to medal in all of eleven events. Congratulations to all 217 athletes who satisfied the criteria for the Most Outstanding Athlete Overall, which is eight (8) gold medals. Special congratulations to our own Daniel Thomas, The Gleaner 2001 Spelling Bee Champion who won one of the top awards at the games Most Outstanding Athlete in the Sciences. Really outstanding.
Already, nations have started their preparation for the 27th staging of the games set to get underway in just over five months. Incidentally, the Winter Games (the January sitting of the examinations) will be on in earnest in less than a month. Thousands of Jamaicans will face the starter in one or more of 11 events - the most popular being ... you guessed it. Mathematics.
