Seventy-five students in St. Vincent and the Grenadines who sat the 2022 CSEC examinations “failed to pass at least one subject,” Minister of Education, Curtis King has told Parliament.
“For the candidates who sat five or more subjects, 29 students received no passes, and 46 students who sat less than five subjects recorded zero passes,” he said today (Thursday) in response to a question in Parliament.
Opposition spokesperson on education, Terrance Ollivierre, a former teacher, asked King, a retired principal, to say how many students received five or more passes inclusive of English language and mathematics; what number of students, if any, who were not successful in any subjects; and what new incentives or initiatives will be implemented to improve students’ success at internal and external exams.
The education minister said that for the 2022 Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) sitting, 306 candidates passed five or more subjects, inclusive of English language and mathematics.
He explained that in St. Vincent and the Grenadines students take two mathematics examinations — the standard CSEC exams as well as additional maths.
“So, 235 candidates passed English language with the standard CXC mathematics examination, while 71 students passed English language with additional maths,” King told lawmakers.
He said the Ministry of Education is working to acquire an education management information system.
“This system will provide teachers and administrators with the requisite tools to better attract school attendance, academic performance, and other pertinent data relating to the students at their respective schools so that they can make well-informed decisions such that they promote and improve academic performance,” King said.
He said that the portal will also provide access to students and their parents and guardians, thus providing greater autonomy and access to information regarding the studies.
“This may help to improve students’ engagement, motivation, and sense of achievement. In the meantime, the Ministry of Education will continue to help teachers to focus on improving their teaching and assessment methods to cater for the various learning styles of their students in their in respective classrooms,” the education minister said.
“We will also continue to provide ongoing professional development training for teachers and to provide the necessary sources to allow schools to help reduce absenteeism as we work on different aspects to improve all students’ academic performance,” King said.
He said teachers are key in providing new incentives and creative suggestions to motivate students to improve their performance in their internal and external exams.
Meanwhile, results released by the Ministry of Education last September, there was a 16.93 percentage point decline in student performance compared to 2021, and a 7.78 percentage point slide compared to 2019, the ministry’s preferred reference year.
There was a 66.55% pass rate last year, compared to 83.48% in 2021, 81.86% in 2020 and 74.33% in 2019.
In 2021 and 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosive eruption of La Soufriere volcano students took a single-paper multiple choice examination, the ministry said in a press release.
Last year, 2006 candidates were registered. Of these, 513 were private candidates and 1,493 were school candidates.
This is Reason for Concern.
Yes , is it because many were put in secondary schools knowing that they can’t read and not having any numeracy basics.? Where is the remedial class rooms for children who really need it,?
This is the Education Revolution. The fact that not all students are cut out to do well academically. Some can be skilled tradesmen.
That’s ey taxpayers money should never be used yo pay for subjects.