Crawford Describes Jamaica’s CXC Pass Rates as a ‘National Crisis’

A national crisis!

That’s how Opposition Spokesman on Education, Senator Damian Crawford, has described Jamaica’s poor pass rates for mathematics at the CXC level.

Senator Crawford was reacting to the Ministry of Education’s analysis, which shows that only 18 per cent of this year’s cohort obtained five subjects, including mathematics and English.

He is urging the government to undertake an in-depth analysis of the potential socio-economic issues that could be hindering the ability of students to learn the subjects.

Chevon Campbell tells us more.

Education Minister Fayval Williams revealed earlier this week that the number of students passing five subjects, including mathematics and English language, had declined for 2024.

Only 18 per cent of students passed five subjects this year, compared to 21 per cent in 2023. Senator Damian Crawford says this is a national crisis.

He says this puts Jamaica well behind the curve in comparison to the rest of the Caribbean.  For example, in Trinidad, 45 per cent of students passed at least five subjects including maths and English.

Senator Crawford is calling for the government to properly assess many of the socio-economic issues that affect the ability of children to attend and focus in class.

Minister Williams has said the ministry is working on several measures to improve the pass rate for math.

These include increasing the number of mathematics teachers in schools and improving how mathematics is taught in schools.

But Mr. Crawford believes how the subject is taught currently should not be the primary area of concern.