Mon | Dec 1, 2025

CXC to publishers: Make texts accessible for visually impaired learners

Published:Friday | November 28, 2025 | 12:06 AM
Dr Wayne Wesley (centre), CXC registrar, in conversation with Carol Simpson (left), officer-in-charge of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Division for Latin America and the Caribbean; Monica Halil Lövblad (second right), head of WIP
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Dr Wayne Wesley (centre), CXC registrar, in conversation with Carol Simpson (left), officer-in-charge of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Division for Latin America and the Caribbean; Monica Halil Lövblad (second right), head of WIPO’s Accessible Books Consortium, and Tobias Bednarz, legal counsel, WIPO’s Copyright Law Division.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) will require publishers to produce accessible texts, including braille and large print, registrar Dr Wayne Wesley said Monday.

Speaking at a World Intellectual Property Organization workshop in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wesley said authors who support the Marrakesh Treaty will be prioritised when texts are chosen for CXC syllabuses. The treaty, adopted in 2013, aims to make published works more available to people who are blind, visually impaired or print disabled.

“CXC will make it a requirement for all authors to indicate their support for the provision of the Marrakesh Treaty”, said Wesley. “Priority and preference will be given to authors who demonstrate this support when selecting prescribed or recommended texts for our syllabuses”.

He therefore urged educational publishers to produce books and resources in accessible formats.

“There is a growing need for accessibility by exam candidates across the region,” Wesley said, noting that 3,444 students requested Special Arrangement Assessments during the January and May to June 2025 examination sessions, up from 3,271 in 2024.

A Moral Imperative

Citing recent studies, the CXC CEO said more than 0.1 per cent of Caribbean children aged five to 16 are blind, while up to 0.3 per cent have low vision. In Barbados, 2.4 per cent of children under 18 have visual impairment, and in Trinidad and Tobago, 64 per cent of high school students have refractive errors requiring visual aids. In Jamaica, 4.9 per cent of young students have hearing impairment.

“Each statistic represents a child whose educational journey depends on our commitment to accessibility. We cannot afford to let them down,” Wesley said.

CXC plans to advocate through ministries of education for wider adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty and will conduct training sessions for secondary school teachers to better support visually impaired and print-disabled students.

“At CXC, we will continue to adopt new approaches and technologies to enhance accessibility to our examinations, ensuring that all candidates – regardless of ability – can participate fully and fairly,” Wesley said. “Accessible books and exam materials are not just a legal or ethical requirement. They are a moral imperative.”