Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), Dr Wayne Wesley, said education ministries across the region ought to give greater attention to Mathematics.
This follows a report by the Council that only 36 per cent of candidates across the region received a passing grade in the May/June 2024 sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Mathematics examination. Director of Operations, CXC, Dr Nicole Mannings, who presented the results during a ceremony held in Dominica on Tuesday (August 21), said this represents a seven per cent decline when compared to last year.
Of that number, she said nine per cent earned a grade one; 11 per cent received grade two, while the remaining 16 per cent received grade three.
Dr Wesley argued that “it is not one individual that has the silver bullet to solve this problem”.
“The ecosystem of education will have to be addressed from the primary level all the way up to the secondary level. It involves the universities, the teachers’ colleges within universities, in the preparation of teachers.
“It involves the provision of resources; it involves responsible parenting.
“We have a wide cross-section of factors that we will have to give consideration to, in order to address this particular concern,” he said.
For English A, 76 per cent of students received a passing grade, a two per cent decline when compared to 2023.
Dr Wesley reaffirmed CXC’s commitment to playing its part in ensuring high levels of numeracy and literacy among the region’s students.
“English and Mathematics are fundamental to learning and functioning in the world today. I have no objection and, in fact, it is very important for our students to be rounded, but I think it is critical and vitally necessary for us to give greater emphasis on English and Mathematics and the competencies to be acquired,” he said. Dr Wesley added that these two subjects are the foundation on which all other subjects are taught and achieved.
He reasoned that failure to address the performance of candidates in critical subjects could result in students not realising their full potential and a negative effect on the economic competitiveness of the region.
