Overseas Examinations Commission Corporate Profile
The Overseas Examinations Commission (OEC), which was established by an Act of Parliament in 2005, stands as a public entity under the Ministry of Education and Youth in Jamaica. Its establishment represents the evolutionary journey of its predecessor entities, which dates back to as early as 1887.
Guided by its Core Values of Integrity, Reliability, Innovation and Efficiency, the Strategic Mission of the OEC is to efficiently and effectively administer and facilitate access to examinations while providing the relevant support services needed to meet customer, coupled with an unwavering commitment to upholding the utmost level of integrity.
For over 135 years, the OEC has been in service to the Government and people of Jamaica, and acts as a Proctoring (Supervisory) Body for many Overseas Examining Boards for Secondary and Tertiary Level Education.
Over the years, the OEC has administered, not just the Secondary School General Cambridge International Examinations [GCE] now Cambridge Assessment International Education and Caribbean Examinations Council [CXC], but examinations for over 46 postsecondary and professional bodies for both paper-based and digitised examinations.
The paper-based examinations that are administered by OEC include: MRCP (UK) – Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom, MRCS – The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, FRCS – Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, UOL – University of London, and Heriot Watt University.
The computer-based examinations include: Pearson VUE and Pearson VUE Select examinations – this platform allows the OEC to proctor over seventy (70) certifying bodies examination, such as Microsoft, CIMA, CISCO, COMPTIA, GMAT, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Project Management Institute (PMI) etc. It also includes: ACCA – Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, AAT – Association of Accounting Technicians, Kryterion – This platform also allows the OEC to proctor over seventy (70) certifying bodies examination. These include IAAP, IAPP, Software Engineering Institute (SEI) etc. NEXTEC – PSI & Castle are another computer-based examination proctored by OEC. It includes exams offered by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), ISACA and AWS examinations.
The OEC was also named a Cambridge International Partner in recognition of the work carried out on its behalf in Jamaica, and was recently upgraded to a Pearson Vue Select Centre. The OEC and HEART/NSTA Trust signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2020 that allows the OEC to administer the NCTVET examinations.
In 2021, the OEC was approved by the British Council as a Point Testing Partner for the International Education Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. This is yet another indication that our facilities meet the global standards for Test Centres.
The increasing number of examining bodies now utilising the services of OEC demonstrates that the organisation has earned a sound international reputation for administering examinations. The OEC has proven to be an invaluable source of employment to a cadre of supervisors and invigilators. In 2010, it became a Statutory Board of Government and in 2017, it celebrated 130 years of service to the people of Jamaica.
The OEC, like its predecessors, receives no subvention or any other type of financial assistance from the Government of Jamaica. It finances its operations through Examination Fees, examination-related material, service charges for the preparation of transcripts, the certification of results, seminars, workshops for Private Candidates, venue rentals and document imaging.
The memory of the Founding Fathers should be treasured for their spirit of voluntarism and the vision that laid the foundation for the successful operations of the Commission as we know it today.