-in effort to arrest falling pass rates
As part of its efforts to effect a turnaround in the national mathematics pass rate which has been on a downward trend in recent years, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has launched a Math Intervention Awareness Campaign to promote its revised National Mathematics Intervention Programme which kicked off earlier in September.
A team of 50 math monitors—including retired maths teachers, maths degree holders, and university lecturers—has been assembled to work directly with 50 targeted schools to ensure effective classroom instruction. Schools selected for the programme are those with historically low pass rates, particularly in Grades 10 and 11, a MoE release stated yesterday.
It also explained that the launch was in response to President Irfaan Ali’s directive to immediately implement corrective measures in all of the nation’s schools. And with the national mathematics pass rate falling from 34% to 31% in recent years, this initiative aims to address systemic challenges in math education.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, noted that mathematics is a global and regional challenge, and assured of the ministry’s commitment to tackling the problem with urgency. She reflected on her personal experience with the subject, positing that if entire classes struggle with maths, it is often due to issues with how and who is teaching the subject. The Minister pointed out that teachers and schools will now be held accountable for students’ maths results, and that the monitors will ensure teachers are sticking to the curriculum and teaching effectively.
According to MoE, students in these schools will receive essential resources such as past examination papers, geometry sets, scientific calculators, and textbooks. The programme also includes diagnostic tests, national mock exams, and twice-weekly maths lessons aired on the Ministry of Education and Guyana Learning Channel’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Additionally, a support hotline, 736-MATH, has been set up to allow students and teachers to report any issues related to Maths instruction, alongside the Ministry’s quiz app “Quiz Me”, which affords students practice with multiple-choice exam-style questions to help them prepare for tests.
To kick off the awareness campaign, the Minister visited schools across Pomeroon-Supenaam, Region Two, including Charity Secondary, Cotton Field Secondary, Aurora Secondary, and Abram Zuil and Johanna Cecilia Secondary, where she encouraged parents, teachers, and students, to take full advantage of the programme’s resources. She emphasised the critical role of parents in motivating their children to practice regularly and participate in the programme fully.
Further, throughout November, the Minister and her team plan to visit all 50 schools in the programme to promote the initiative and encourage parents, teachers, and students to fully engage with the provided resources. She highlighted the crucial role of parental support in ensuring students actively participate and practice.
Integral to the campaign’s interactive element is the involvement of Leon Beaton, Education Officer and Coordinator for the Math Intervention. He is a maths monitor himself, in addition to overseeing interactive maths programmes like “Beatin’ Da Maths.”
As part of the interactive programmes, Beaton will be visiting various schools where he will challenge students with math questions and problems, which will air on Wednesdays at 7 pm. Additionally, he spearheads topic-based maths videos in accordance with the syllabus and curriculum, which are recorded and aired every Tuesday at 7pm and every Sunday at 5pm on the Ministry’s Facebook page. These aim to enhance students’ understanding through accessible, engaging content, which are all also available on the Guyana Learning Channel’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
The release noted that this multi-faceted programme, with its focus on accountability, resource allocation, and community engagement, is expected to lay the groundwork for long-term improvements in math performance across Guyana.
Manickchand and her team expressed optimism that the combination of in-classroom support, accessible resources, and interactive programming, will yield significant progress, with an ambitious goal of achieving at least a 40% national maths pass rate by 2025.
The MoE assured that it will continue to monitor and refine the programme to ensure it meets the evolving needs of both students and teachers, the release added.
