Minister of Education Shaik Baksh says this year the ministry has resolved to ensure that teachers dedicate themselves to attaining a higher percentage of attendance and punctuality.
In his message to mark Education Month, Baksh also said, “We must work to ensure that our students attend school regularly, and are punctual. If we are to improve the quality of education our children receive, we must first ensure that they are present in the classroom to benefit from the numerous interventions planned and are being implemented in the education sector.” The theme for Education Month is ‘School Attendance and Punctuality: Keys to Education Success’.
The minister said the new school year begins on a high note as the ministry is encouraged by the improvements in the recent CSEC performances especially in subject areas Mathematics and English. He said the performances are a direct result of a number of interventions and strategies instituted in the education system and to this end he is grateful to the education officers, teachers, parents and students for pursuing excellence.
Baksh said too in order to raise the education standards countrywide the levels of literacy and numeracy at the primary level must improve significantly. To this end, the ministry has made it another critical area of focus for this academic year. “We have already initiated the Literacy and Numeracy Unit” in the ministry which is charged with accelerating these efforts, Baksh said. He also said the literacy certification programme in Grade Four has already been introduced and along with other measures being implemented the ministry is confident that in the short-term literacy standards in the country will improve.
