The Ministry of Education and Youth has reaffirmed its commitment to improving the performance of students in Mathematics at the secondary level.
Only 39 per cent of Jamaican students in public schools received a passing grade in the May/June 2024 sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Mathematics examination.
Acting Chief Education Officer, Terry-Ann Thomas Gayle, said the Ministry has been examining the pool of educators who are teaching the subject.
“We are revisiting the curriculum at the tertiary institutions. We will be looking on who are going to the Maths programme to ensure that we’re attracting the best minds for Maths,” Mrs. Thomas Gayle said.
She was addressing Monday’s (August 26) press conference to provide a report on Jamaica’s performance in the May/June 2024 CSEC and CAPE examinations, at the Ministry’s offices in Kingston.
Mrs. Thomas Gayle further shared that the Ministry will be employing the coaching model at the primary and secondary levels.
“Our coaches within the Ministry will be giving more hands-on guidance to our teachers and to see how best we can help in bridging that gap with pedagogy and the students’ performance,” she explained.
The Acting Chief Education Officer said a specialist model will be rolled out in primary schools with a focus on mathematics, language arts, science and social studies.
“We will continue, however, to interrogate the data to look at the specific cases –what it is that would have attributed to the performance at different schools – and we will be working with our leaders to ensure that we help them to bridge the gap with their teachers’ competence,” Mrs. Thomas Gayle said.
Meanwhile, Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, said the plan will also entail getting more maths teachers into schools across Jamaica.
She said the Ministry continues to encourage persons to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.
She pointed to the $2.5-billion scholarship programme launched by the Ministry of Finance, in partnership with the Students’ Loan Bureau and The Mico University College, which will benefit students matriculating into STEM areas.