Education system to be reviewed to ensure better results

Oct 08, 2008 News

– Minister Baksh
The University of Guyana is failing to produce enough graduates in Science and Technology, a situation which, according to Education Minister Shaik Baksh, has been attributed to limited efforts to promote the subject areas at the primary and secondary levels.
The Minister added that the situation, as it stands, could have a direct impact on the economic development of the country.
The Ministry of Education has already started to address the state of affairs by appointing a Science Coordinator, according to Minister Baksh, and the Ministry is looking at schools’ laboratories countrywide.
Incentives and scholarships will be among the motivating factors to encourage students to delve into the Science and Technology stream, he added.
Minister Baksh said that plans are apace to review the curriculum of schools in order to realise greater achievements and enhance learning experiences.
As part of the review process, the Ministry will be introducing in some schools a sixth year secondary programme especially for those students who have not been performing well at the National Grade Six Assessment, for one reason or another.

Education Minister, Shaik Baksh

“This will be for a certain duration, so that we can work with these students to ensure that they reach an acceptable standard to really be able to join the mainstream secondary education.”
According to the Minister, the lack of dedication to such students has over the years been one of the key reasons why they have been dropping out, having gone through the primary cycle and not doing well.
At the secondary level, the Minister asserted that the students are unable to cope with the work, a situation which the Ministry is intent on remedying urgently.
He said that a pilot project in this regard has already been engaged.
He noted that the Ministry will be endeavouring to review the subjects offered at the various secondary schools, adding that a task team is currently addressing this issue.
“We are not satisfied that some schools should have 20 to 24 subjects, so we are reviewing the number of courses and the streaming of students, so that efforts will be made to promote science education in our schools.”
The Minister divulged that efforts will be made to review the sixth form programme.
According to him, there is a need to rationalise the programme possibly by setting up one Sixth Form College or by having schools specialise in various subject areas.
“One school could specialise in Science and another in Arts because of the numbers. We are reviewing but we will consult with all of the sixth form schools this term and we will have consultation to get the views of the school and the boards of schools on the way forward, but we will still put forward a proposal in this regard.”
Additionally, the Minister related that the Ministry will soon be making a decision as to whether to continue ‘A’ Level examinations in the public school system and only concentrate on the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).
“Again we will consult on this; on whether to leave the ‘A’ levels for private schools as we have discontinued ‘O’ Levels in public secondary schools.”
This move, according to the Minister, is intended to help the sector better channel its resources to garner more beneficial and efficient results.
Also, as part of the Ministry’s reviewing process, Minister Baksh said that the placement of secondary schools in categories ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ will be addressed at a countrywide level with a view of ensuring better equity in the allocation of schools.
A task force, he said, has also been set up in this regard, adding that a public announcement will be made when the placement process is completed.