The Overseas Examinations Commission (OEC) was legally established by an Act of Parliament under the Ministry of Education of Jamaica in 2005. This incorporated the old Overseas Examinations Committee, which had been created in 1887 to administer British O level examinations for a few dozen students.
Since the 1960s, the Committee had administered examinations for many of the British secondary and pre-university examination boards and became the body responsible for overseeing international examinations conducted in Jamaica. As a result of the new act, the Commission became a statutory board of government.
Among its other services, the OEC administers and proctors examinations for specific secondary, pre-university, and professional examination boards; prepares certified copies of examination results and certificates; issues replacements of select examination certificates; processes examination transcripts; and verifies results.
Examinations are administered at approximately 300 exam centres across Jamaica. Both electronic and paper-based examinations are given, depending on the examination.
The administration of examinations is the core business of the Overseas Examinations Commission. Traditionally examinations are paper-based and, even though this is changing, many of the examinations administered by the OEC continues to be written.
The major secondary leaving examinations include those offered by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC): Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), and the new Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC). The OEC is considered the local registrar for the Caribbean Examinations Council in Jamaica rather than the Ministry of Education. In other Caribbean countries, the Ministry of Education can issue official CXC results since the Ministry maintains the records for their own students.
Students can also now take Jamaican examinations leading to National Vocational Qualifications of Jamaica (NVQ-J0 qualifications awarded by the National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET).
In addition, the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) and Edexcel General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations are still taken, though in smaller numbers, by both school and private candidates in Jamaica. City & Guilds examinations are available as well. OEC also offers examinations for Pearson Vue, including GMAT testing and Cisco Systems exams.
OEC also proctors professional examinations for select universities in the United Kingdom and Canada as well as admissions examinations for numerous universities worldwide. Professional examinations are also available for organizations such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and the Association of Business Executives.
OEC is also a center for the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) exam and the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP). All told, the OEC administers international professional and semi-professional examinations for 600+ examination bodies.
The OEC has also been the lead organization in Jamaica in the proctoring/administration of examinations at the post-secondary level for many years. Examinations at this level include undergraduate and post-graduate degrees and diplomas as well as professional qualifications in a variety of fields. Professional qualifications include those awarded by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and Institute for the Management of Information, while diploma and degree programs include those awarded by the University of London, the University of Leicester, Northumbria University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Southern Queensland, among others.
The Overseas Examinations Commission will forward a Certifying Statement of Examination Results directly to an educational institution, employer, or other third party on a student's behalf by postal or digital mail.
Resources:
Cabinet Approves Members of Overseas Examinations Commission. Jamaica Information Service, 2006. https://jis.gov.jm/cabinet-approves-members-of-overseas-examinations-commission/
Caribbean Examinations Council. https://www.cxc.org/%E2%80%8Bfaqs/general-enquiries/ and https://www.cxc.org/links-to-ministries-and-institutions/
Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Jamaica: https://moey.gov.jm/agency/overseas-examinations-commission/
National Education Inspectorate, Jamaica: https://www.nei.org.jm/Resources/Useful-links
Overseas Exam Commission (OEC) Parts 1, 2, and 3. Jamaica Information Service, 2024. https://jis.gov.jm/videos/overseas-exam-commission-oec-p1/ and https://jis.gov.jm/videos/overseas-exam-commission-oec-p2/ and https://jis.gov.jm/videos/overseas-exam-commission-oec-p3/
Overseas Examinations Commission: https://overseasexams.org.jm/history/ and https://overseasexams.org.jm/frequently-asked-questions/ and https://overseasexams.org.jm/certificate-replacement/ and https://overseasexams.org.jm/transcripts/ and https://overseasexams.org.jm/corporate-profile/
Overseas Examinations Commission Act, 2005: https://www.commonlii.org/jm/legis/num_act/oeca2005n24395.pdf