Minister of Education Shaik Baksh is urging head teachers to demonstrate renewed commitment to their jobs and to employ available resources to inspire better performance from their charges this year.
In a press release the ministry said Baksh also announced that greater attention will be placed on poorly performing schools during the year to ensure that steps are taken to reverse failure. This will be addressed through the Performance Enhancement Programme (PEP) with heightened emphasis on strengthening the capacity of school managers to better facilitate the delivery of quality education.
“Under the PEP, more attention and resources are being given to a select group of the poorest performing primary and secondary schools in every education district to turn around the undesirable performance,” the ministry said. Baksh noted that officers will continue to work closely with these school managers to provide all necessary support to realise positive changes in students’ learning.
The minister also noted that some schools have been making a concerted effort to boost their performance and others have yet to address the issue. The minister singled out Region Five for poor performance as even though 67% of the teachers at the primary level are trained students have performed poorly at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).
He reiterated that head teachers are responsible for every student who passes through their schools unable to read and write, adding that it is a serious indictment on the ministry and other stakeholders in the education system.
