Birth certificate PIN to track pupils

All pupils registering for examinations under the Ministry of Education must provide their Personal Identification Number (PIN) that is on the new electronic birth certificate. The examinations for which the PIN have become necessary include the National Tests, the National Certificate of Secondary Education (NCSC), the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), the Caribbean Examination Council and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). Communications Specialist at the Ministry of Education, Mervyn Crichlow, told the Express recently that the PIN would be used to track pupils throughout their school life. "Your unique number on your new electronic birth certificate will also become your student identification number so we would have a database on all our students," Crichlow said. "It can also help us better facilitate the placement and transfer of students, gauge their attendance at school, their progress and achievements and provide better support. "It would also be useful to us in monitoring the movement of pupils from school to school so if a pupil has a particular challenge, we would know where they are," Crichlow.