Renewed Focus on Mathematics

With evidence of under-performance in Mathematics at schools across the State, the Government is moving to implement strategies to equip students and teachers with tools to address problem areas.

The Mathematics Improvement Programme (MIP), was announced by Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves in Budget 2025 as part of the education initiatives in the House of Assembly just over a week ago. The MIP will facilitate after-school classes in Mathematics for students in Grades 5 and 6 of primary schools, and Forms 4 and 5 of secondary schools.

For the MIP, teachers will be paid to conduct weekly, mandatory classes for all students in the targeted grades and forms and when fully implemented, the Mathematics Improvement Programme will provide students with more than thirty additional hours of instruction in mathematics each academic year.

Within the same week, the Ministry of Education hosted a two-day Mathematics workshop with 30 teachers aimed at improving subject knowledge through technology- enabled learning and gender-responsive approaches.

The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Lois George, a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education at The UWI, Mona Campus.
She explained that the workshop’s focus was set specifically on fractions as it builds the foundation for many other areas of mathematics.

“It [fractions] is difficult to teach, difficult to learn, and most importantly a predictor of Math success in high school and beyond. It underpins so many of the topics in Mathematics.”

Speaking at the opening of the workshop on January 13, 2025, Chief Education Officer, Kay Martin-Jack, said the issues facing Mathematics performance are not unique to St Vincent and the Grenadines; the problem also exists in other countries.

Based on results from the Caribbean Examination Council, only 36 percent of regional candidates passed Mathematics in the 2024 May/June sitting of exams.

Martin-Jack told teachers that the Ministry expects to see improved results following the implementation of strategies gained from the workshops.

“We are here to cultivate a dynamic community of practice where educators leverage culturally and communicatively relevant methods to enhance learners’ mathematical competencies.

“So when the [Education] officers come into the school, they must be seeing some element of difference,” Martin-Jack said.
In addition to the two-day workshop, teachers will also conduct three weekly meetings, as well as community practice from February to April.