…if teachers deliver adequately in the classroom
The issue of extra lessons has again surfaced and Education Minister Shaik Baksh has vowed to pay greater attention to address the problem sooner than later. The minister gave the assurance at the opening session of a recent one day meeting with secondary school headteachers across the country at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) to discuss the way forward on a range of policies and programmes on secondary education.
Baksh is of the view that the practice is being forced on students in a subtle way and pointed out that students at Bishops’ High, Queen’s College and the other top schools in the country do not need extra lessons once teachers deliver adequately in the classroom.
The minister buttressed his argument by pointing out that these institutions have the cream of the country’s top students.
He lamented that about 60 to 70 per cent of students at the top schools attend extra lessons and some teachers have been making a big business out of the scheme.
The minister stressed that while the Ministry of Education cannot stop paid lessons after school, headteachers should make a concerted effort to ensure that their teachers do not only cover their syllabuses, but also deliver effectively in the classroom.
He said that the Ministry of Education is concerned about the situation as the practice puts too much burden on students, noting that it takes away their time to engage in physical education, sports and the arts, which are also important disciplines to mould them into rounded individuals.
Baksh said that his ministry has taken note of the situation and stressed that though the problem cannot be addressed overnight, greater effort will be placed on arresting the problem sooner than later.
He said that during the past three years, there have been improvements in student performance and focused attention continues to be placed on raising the level of students’ performance in English and Mathematics.
According to the minister, once students are competent enough in these two areas, their performance in the other subject areas will naturally improve.
On that note, he praised those teachers who have worked tirelessly to improve their students’ performance in English and Mathematics at the last CSEC examinations, but underlined that the achievements made must be maintained and further enhanced.    
He said heavy emphasis is also being placed on remediation for students who perform poorly in English and Mathematics at the secondary level, and threw out a proposal to have those students who show no signs of improvement at the remediation programme at Grade 10 to be disallowed from sitting the CSEC examinations. This idea was favourably received by the scores of headteachers in attendance.
In addition, he said all hinterland students who secure four subjects and more with passes in Grades One to Three, but without Mathematics or English, or both subjects, will be eligible for free tuition to re-sit the examinations next year.  
Some 1,000 students are expected to benefit from this intervention which is being executed at a cost of $30M. The minister explained that the aim is to ensure that more students from the hinterland regions are qualified to pursue higher education and enjoy similar opportunities as those at the disposal of coastland students.
Other programmes to improve students’ performance and reduce school drop-outs as well at the secondary level include the Secondary Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP) and the Performance Enhancement Programme (PIP).    
Meanwhile, Baksh also expressed the need to close any existing gap between the Ministry of Education and schools in the quest to maximize the performance of both students and teachers in the classroom and to achieve the benchmarks set-out in the ministry’s 2008-2013 Strategic Plan.
He also noted that the system is not without challenges, but said that many of these have been resolved through consultations with parents, and singled out the Form One remedial programme as a product of these dialogues.