Ministry Launches Math Intervention Campaign

Leon Beaton

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.