Animation and Game Design will be a new addition to the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) offerings this academic year.
The subject will comprise two units – ‘The Fundamentals of Animation and Game Design’, and ‘Interactive Design and Game Development’.
Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, told JIS News that he is very excited, as “the entire education training system has to be re-aligned to labour market demands, due to these emerging trends in terms of occupations”.
“We have to reorganise our school training programme and curriculum in that regard,” he added.
Therefore, he said, the Ministry will be encouraging schools to adopt these new programmes, noting that some schools have registered for the subject.
The Minister said that many teachers in the system are trained in Information Technology, with the potential to transition into teaching this subject.
Some of the modules to be included in the Animation and Game Design course are ‘Understanding Animation’; ‘Game Design’; ‘Drawing and Layouts’; and ‘Story and Character Development’.
In the meantime, Assistant Registrar, Public Information and Customer Service at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), Cleveland Sam, toldJIS News that the examination will be paperless and done online.
Mr. Sam pointed out that this is the second paperless examination that the CXC is offering, the first being Digital Media, which was launched in 2013.
The Assistant Registrar said this is part of what CXC is calling the ‘new generation’ CAPE subjects.
Other subjects recently launched under the ‘new generation’ subjects are Agricultural Science; Tourism; Entrepreneurship; Performing Arts; and Physical Education and Sport, in 2014.
“Part of the thrust for CXC is that students should be able to leave school with some employable skills, so instead of leaving school and applying for a job, you can leave school and create jobs for yourselves and other people,” Mr. Sam explained.
He further added that CXC is trying to create producers of animation and game design content rather than just remaining consumers.
“This is where the world is going and part of CXC’s mandate is to assure the global human competitiveness of the Caribbean region,” the Assistant Registrar told JIS News.
The CAPE animation module was launched earlier this year at the KingstOOn Animation Festival, held at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.
Source: Jamaica Information Service