The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information has commended efforts under the Inter-Ministerial School Support Strategy (ISSS) that have facilitated critical interventions for students residing in parishes where Zones of Special Operations (ZOSOs) have been implemented.
One strategy employed is a Mathematics Problem-Solving Competition, which targeted primary and secondary students in the Ministry’s Region One (Kingston and St. Andrew) and Four (St. James, Westmoreland and Hanover), to enhance their problem-solving skills, foster teamwork and promote a culture of mathematics excellence in schools.
The inaugural competition was held recently in partnership with the British High Commission through its Violence-Prevention Partnership Programme.
Speaking during the closing ceremony at Merl Grove High School in Kingston, Assistant Chief Education Officer, Dr. Tamika Benjamin, who represented Portfolio Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, hailed the partnership between the Ministry and the High Commission.
“The inter-ministerial project is really a shining example of what can be achieved when several arms of our government, strengthened by the support of international development partners such as the British High Commission, work together to tackle complex problems, and understandably, education is an important part of that initiative,” she said.
Dr. Benjamin pointed out that education is critical to achieving the goals under the country’s long-term National Development Plan – Vision 2030 Jamaica, adding that the competition “is not just an investment in our schools but it’s an investment in the future of our entire nation”.
The competition also focused on tackling the prevailing issue of low performance in Mathematics in primary and secondary schools.
Dr. Benjamin pointed out that despite an increase in the numeracy mastery levels over the past decade, much remains to be done.
She was, however, optimistic that with interventions such as the ISSS mathematics problem-solving competition, greater improvements will be recorded in numeracy levels.
“As a Ministry, we have been targeting these specific schools with one goal… to improve mathematics outcomes for the students. We are proud of the gains that we have made, particularly over the last 10 to 12 years, [where] we’ve moved from numeracy mastery levels of 38 per cent and we are now in the 60s,” Dr. Benjamin said.
Twelve schools participated in the finale of the competition, which tasked students with applying their mathematical knowledge to real-world scenarios.
Along with trophies, medals, certificates and gift baskets, which were given to the students and teachers adjudged sectional and overall winners, each participating school received material to be used in their mathematics resource rooms.
Consequent on the work done, so far, through the ISSS, Governance Advisor at the British High Commission, Sharon Weber, said the organisation is committed to the continued support of the Education Ministry and the schools in their initiatives, not only in mathematics but also in activities associated with foundational learning.