Ministry Launches Math Campaign

Empowering Success in Mathematics - The Ministry of Education Launches Comprehensive Math Intervention Awareness Campaign

November 9, 2024 - In response to His Excellency President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali's directive to immediately implement corrective measures in all of the nation's schools, the Ministry of Education has launched a Math Intervention Awareness Campaign to promote its revised National Mathematics Intervention Programme, launched earlier in September, which targets improving CSEC math performance across Guyana.

With the national math pass rate falling from 34% to 31% in recent years, this initiative aims to address systemic challenges in math education.

Honourable Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, emphasized that mathematics is a global and regional challenge, but highlighted the ministry’s commitment to tackling the problem with urgency.

Reflecting on her personal experience with math, she pointed out that if entire classes struggle with math, it is often due to issues in how and who is teaching the subject. The Minister stressed that teachers and schools will now be held accountable for students’ math results, and that the monitors will ensure teachers are sticking to the curriculum and teaching effectively.

A team of 50 math monitors—including retired math teachers, math 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.

Students in these schools receive essential resources such as past paper booklets, geometry sets, scientific calculators, and textbooks. The programme also includes diagnostic tests, national mock exams, and twice-weekly Math 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 Math instruction, alongside the Ministry's quiz application: Quiz Me, which is an application that gives students practice with multiple-choice exam-style questions to help them prepare for tests.

To kick off the awareness campaign, the Honourable Minister visited schools across Pomeroon-Supenaam, Region 2, 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 emphasized the critical role of parents in motivating their children to practice regularly and participate in the programme fully.

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 Sir Leon Beaton, Education Officer and Coordinator for the Math Intervention, is a math monitor himself, in addition to overseeing interactive math programs like “Beatin’ Da Maths.” This series sees him visiting various schools where he challenges students with math questions and problems, and airs on Wednesdays at 7PM.

Additionally, he spearheads topic-based math 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, enhancing students’ understanding through accessible, engaging content, which are all also available on the Guyana Learning Channel's Facebook and YouTube pages.

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. Minister Manickchand and her team are hopeful 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 math pass rate by 2025.

The Ministry of Education remains committed to continuously monitoring and refining the programme to ensure it meets the evolving needs of students, teachers, and the broader educational community in Guyana.