CARICOM leaders to discuss poor maths performance – Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana

Last Updated on Thursday, September 5, 2024, 23:34 by Writer

Leaders of the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will discuss the poor performance of children across the region in mathematics, with President Irfaan Ali suggesting that falling grades in the subject could be due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The subject of mathematics has now captured the attention of every single head of state and prime minister in the region and is now on the agenda of heads of government in CARICOM. So to tell you about the issues and challenges that we are facing,” he said at the opening of the new Yarrowkabra Secondary School.

The Barbados-based Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) reported last month that only 36 percent of students in the region achieved passing grades in maths at Caribbean Secondary School Education The certification (CSEC) saw a seven percentage point decrease compared to last year. CXC Chief Operating Officer Dr Nicole Manning highlighted the need for improvement in every region.

Dr. Ali noted that Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley recently told him that she was considering taking the issue of mathematics to the next CARICOM Summit scheduled for February 2025 because she believed the region was in a crisis in mathematics. “This is not a Jamaican issue, a Barbados issue, a Trinidad issue or a Guyana issue. It has become a collective issue that we must address and here in Guyana,
“Be innovative,” he said,

With Guyana recording a 31% pass rate in CSEC Mathematics in 2024 compared to 34% last year, the President of Guyana pondered whether the decline in the pass rate could be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has lasted more than two years. “Now COVID, Mathematics required more direct contact, more groups, more analytics, more teacher-student relationships, more teaching time, whether COVID itself had a greater impact on students’ performance in Mathematics than other subject areas, because in other subject areas you can read and follow, but in Mathematics you need to have more of a problem-solving approach. You have to do formulas, you have to understand formulas, you have to understand analytics. That could also be a by-product of the COVID issue,” he said.

He said other reasons for Guyana’s declining mathematics performance could be the effectiveness of teaching and the shyness of children.
moving away from the problem-solving mode of mathematics and fearing the subject.

Dr. Ali said he has asked Education Minister Priya Manickchand not to wait for next year’s CARICOM mathematics debate but instead to introspect and identify what tools can be used globally to improve performance in the subject. “We are investing
“Digitalization of education, digitalization of our textbooks, digitalization of our teaching material, digitalization of our learning material, digitalization of our presentations,” he said.

The Government’s Department of Public Information reported that Yarrowkabra Secondary School opened its doors to approximately 1,019 students from various villages along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway and provided a stable and conducive learning environment.

The $790 million learning facility officially opened on Thursday, housing seven previously closed primary schools, as well as some students from Covent Garden, Supply and Providence primary schools.

It also has 11 departments and a staff of 65 teachers, including entrepreneurship, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) and TVET (technical and vocational education and training) skills.

Yarrowkabra Secondary School is fully equipped with three science laboratories, TVET laboratories, a main classroom, eight Grade Seven smart classrooms and annex buildings.

However, due to the increase in the number of students, 10 more classrooms are needed to meet the demand. Minister Manickchand said that bids for the construction of these classrooms have already been submitted.