Students found with cellphones during CXC examinations could be barred from sitting the regional examinations for up to three years, CXC Local Registrar Maritza Weste has warned.

Weste said candidates can face disciplinary action even when a cellphone is stored inside a bag if it rings during an examination and can be linked to them.

“Something as simple as a cellphone — if a child is caught with a cellphone, the child can be barred from CXC for a period of up to three years,” Weste said during an ABS Presents discussion on the 2026 examination results.

She said students are repeatedly warned about the cellphone prohibition before and during the examination period.

Supervisors and invigilators are also instructed during training to remind candidates that phones must not remain on their persons inside examination rooms.

“Once the students get there, once they take control of the class, they are to remind the students that cellphones are not to be on their persons,” Weste said.

“Cellphones should be in their bags away.”

However, Weste said simply placing a phone inside a bag may not fully protect a candidate from disciplinary action.

“CXC actually has a policy that if a cellphone rings within the space and you can identify the cellphone in the bag, that child can be disciplined,” she said.

Students are therefore encouraged to leave their phones behind or ensure they are completely turned off before entering an examination venue.

“We encourage them not to even walk with the cellphones on them or even in their bag,” Weste said.

Director of Education Clare Browne said students must understand the importance of complying with examination rules and completing their papers honestly.

West said Antigua and Barbuda recorded no significant examination misconduct during the 2026 sitting. However, she disclosed that the territory had recorded a small number of cellphone-related incidents in previous years.

“We have had in the past maybe two, three—not a lot to talk about—but we encourage them to be mindful because the cellphones now become a part of them. It’s like their skin,” she said.

Weste said the possible three-year ban is too serious a consequence for students to risk over a device they do not need during an examination.

“We remind them not to walk with their cellphones. Turn them off. It’s just for a day,” she said.

Source: Antigua News Room Students Could Be Barred From CXC for Up to Three Years Over Cellphones.