45 percent failed English, 50 percent failed Maths

About 45 percent of the students who took English at CXC in 2003 failed, according to figures released by the Education Minister. Approximately 50 percent failed Maths in the same year. The year before that, the figures were better, with 35 percent failing English and just under 50 percent failing Maths. Manning was responding to questions from Kamla Persad-Bissessar in the House of Representatives yesterday. She also gave figures for students who scored less than 50 percent and 30 percent in the SEA in 2003. In 2002, 3,602 students (of the 21,448 students writing the exam), scored less than 30 percent.

In 2003, 2,146 (out of a total of 20,669 students) scored less than 30 percent. Manning stated that a heavy investment was being made in teacher training and in the professional development of teachers, to reduce these numbers both in terms of the SEA and CXC results. On the primary level, she said that from 2002 the remedial education programme was intensified and 402 remedial teachers were hired on contract. Numeracy and literary camps were also conducted in secondary schools for students’ remediation.

These programmes which were initated during the July-August vacation in 2002 are ongoing, she noted. Manning said that an adolescent development programme had been introduced to assist students with emotional and attitudinal problems. The Ministry had also obtained Cabinet approval for an Alternative Programme of Study (APS) for under-achieving and low achieving students. On the question of measures done to improve CXC results, Manning said the Ministry of Education did not label children as “failures” and therefore the CXC did not record students as “pass” or “fail.” Instead students were graded according to varying levels of attainment from Grade 1 to Grade VI.