The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has expressed concern at the small number of candidates sitting French and Spanish at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

In a recent release, the Council stated that only 249 candidates entered for the May/June sitting for French Unit 1, while 221 entered for French Unit 2, compared to 302 and 215 last year.

The number of entries for Spanish, though higher, was still small in comparison to other subjects. Spanish Unit 1 received 739 candidates, a marked decrease from last year’s 820 entries. The number of entries for Unit 2, however, was relatively stable, with a negligible increase from 553 to 555.

In a recent address at the Final Awards Committee meeting in Barbados, CXC Chairman E. Nigel Harris explained why a drop in Foreign Language entries is cause for concern. He noted that in a world that is increasingly being globalised and in a region with so many languages, students need to equip themselves with at least one foreign language.

Despite the small number of entries, CXC expressed satisfaction with the overall performance in Foreign Languages, describing it as “stable” and “impressive.” Ninety-seven percent of the entries for French Unit 1 received Grades I-V, with 22 percent achieving Grade 1. French Unit 2 exhibited a similar trend, with 96 percent of candidates obtaining passes and 20 percent achieving Grade 1.

In contrast to the dwindling number of Foreign Language entries, Communication Studies continued its run as the most popular subject at CAPE, with 15,069 candidates signing up, an increase of 9 percent over last year. Caribbean Studies was second, with 10,881 entries, followed by Physics Unit 1, Sociology Unit 1 and Business Unit 1, with 5,867, 5,691 and 5,575 entries, respectively.

The total number of candidates registered for CAPE increased by 5 percent, from 25,000 last year to 27,595 this year.

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