CXC to issue e-Certificates across the region

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has announced that after a successful trial period, it will continue to provide students with e-certificates across the region.

While CXC will still be offering the traditional paper-based certificate, students who have
registered unique and valid e-mail addresses, will now have the option to acquire their
official certification through Blockcerts or blockchain based credentials as a free
downloadable E-Certificate in a digital format, immediately available to students on their electronic devices once the certificate is ready and available.

The CXC ambitiously kicked off the first regional blockchain-based credential project last
October, by issuing E-Certificates to a select group of 24,000 students from Barbados and
Trinidad who sat the 2018 May/June examinations. Now students from across the region
will be able to download their certificates conveniently, securely and quickly onto their
devices, once available.

CXC Registrar/CEO Glenroy Cumberbatch said, “Serving 19 countries – this is the first
explicitly multi-national implementation of digital credentials designed specifically to
maximised cross-border employability and transferability of skills in the region. From
inception, our primary goal was to empower students to have ownership of their records
and be able to share them in a secure way, with whomever they choose”.

“The move was also to boost security and transferability of official examinations records. It
also helps to prevent loss of official records. The blockchain, combined with strong
cryptography, provides a new security infrastructure that guarantees the authenticity of
these records and enables convenient verification,” he added

CXC E-Certificates will be offered for Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exam (CAPE),
Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Certificate of Secondary
Level Competence (CCSLC).

Cumberbatch said E-Certificates add value to students and to the recipients of the Ecertificate: “Students can now have their original record in their possession and control how it is used. They can choose to share their CXC E-Certificate publicly, like on a social media, or send it privately by email or text message. They can even link it to their resume, public portfolio, or applications, so that people like potential employers can verify their
qualifications with the click of a button”

“E-Certificates are tamper-proof and registered on the Bitcoin blockchain, so they can be
shared to Colleges, University, and Clearing Houses as well. Once received the recipients of
the E-Certificates can be independently verified it anywhere. This is all free to our students
receiving their e-credentials as well as to the colleges, university and potential employers
who can now verify certificates immediately. Verification only requires a mobile device or
web browser,” Cumberbatch explained further.

CXC partnered with Learning Machine in June 2018 to collaborate and develop this opensource standard for blockchain based records for Caribbean students, Kausar N. Samli,
Learning Machine Senior Vice President of Global Services, said, “CXC is among an elite
group of institutions that are leading the charge globally for the issuance of secure,
portable, and shareable digital credentials. CXC is now building upon last fall’s successful
launch of Blockcerts for issuance of official student records. From this March, the next batch of students will be receiving Blockcerts that will empower them with individual ownership of their official records in a digital format that is portable and easily shareable.”