In light of consistently declining performances by students in a number of critical subject areas, the government will soon implement a new appraisal instrument in schools to ensure teachers’ performances are strictly monitored and evaluated.
A breakdown of the country’s performance provided by Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain during a press conference at Queen’s College auditorium on Tuesday, revealed that Guyana’s overall pass rates in the 2024 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination slightly declined from 67.37 per cent in 2023 to 63.23 per cent in 2024.
While there was a notable increase in performance across 12 subjects and a 90 per cent pass rate was recorded in seven subjects, English A saw a slight decline, dropping from 72 per cent in 2023 to 69 per cent in 2024.
In addition, Mathematics, another critical subject for many, also experienced a decrease, with its pass rate falling from 34 per cent in 2023 to 31 per cent in 2024.
When questioned about mechanisms being put in place to address the prevalent issue of lower pass rates in these critical subject areas, the Chief Education Officer revealed that the Education Ministry will be embarking on an appraisal system for teachers.
This, he explained, will play a pivotal role in ensuring that all teachers have the skills and support they need to carry out their role effectively.
This publication understands that this new instrument will incorporate variables that are more measurable, and will not only provide for fair, effective and consistent teacher evaluation, but also for across- the -board, quality education of learners in all public schools.
“The Ministry of Education for the last year has been moving around school to school in collaboration with the Guyana Teachers Union to have a new appraisal system put in place. So, we were at the point where we were going to pilot and then we had some unfortunate activities happening in the last term. We expect that in system of this year to launch the new appraisal system for teachers. One that is less subjective and is very evidence based,” Hussain said.
Hussain added that head teachers across the country are familiar with the new system, given that they have benefitted from extensive training on its functions.
“I think it will be a significant benefit to the system. I can tell you at this point that all head teachers across the country have been trained in its use,” he added.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Priya Manickchand noted that monitors will be placed in schools where poor performances are being recorded.
“When I say monitors, I am talking about external independent people, independent from the school, who are going into the school to look for particular things, whether the curriculum is finishing, whether children understand particular topics, whether SBAs are being done and done on time, only for Mathematics and we believe that it is going to change,” Manickchand said.
Moreover, she said other efforts are underway to improve proficiency in Mathematics.
“Don’t put Mathematics in the afternoon, we spoke to children, they said when you put it in the afternoon, ‘we are just waiting to get over the day. it’s too hot, it’s too late and we’re too tired’. So you got to…schedule it or timetable it for the morning,” Manickchand said.
“Give more periods to Mathematics, so we got to drop some things cause Queen’s College does three foreign languages in first form but six periods of Math. Do you need three foreign languages in first form? So those are some of the things we have to look at,” she added.
Moreover, come September, high school students in Grades 10 and 11 will also have access to learning materials such as geometry sets, calculators, graph books, Mathematics text books, pass papers and guidance to websites about where they can access enforcement and lessons.
“In addition to fourth and fifth form all students from grades one all the way to third form will have the mathematics text that they need. Some of them are work books in the lower school and some are text books in the upper school with pass papers and so on. And it’s an intervention that even before these results came out, we began… those things sound small but if you have to borrow a scientific calculator the morning of the exam when you go in there you will fight with how to use it rather than having the familiarity of just moving through,” Manickchand said.
