– as a condition to attend UG
Education Minister Shaik Baksh has said that he will be meeting with English, Mathematics and Science teachers whose attendance at the University of Guyana (UG) affect the delivery of the instructional programme in the classroom. Baksh, addressing scores of parents at a parent/teachers association meeting at St. Stanislaus College, said that he intends to work out a plan with these teachers that will allow them to make up for the time they are unable to teach.
He pointed out that their absence from school affects the completion of their syllabuses and ultimately the performance of students. The minister stressed that for these reasons, those teachers will be required to convene make-up classes for their students to recover the time lost as a condition to obtain release to attend UG.
Baksh also disclosed that he has discussed with UG Vice Chancellor Professor Lawrence Carrington a move for the university to have classes for education programmes held after school hours to avoid a clash between the time teachers are slated to attend UG and teach in school.
He reported that work has already started on the plan and all arrangements should be in place next semester.
The minister, addressing the need for these teachers to deliver adequately in the classroom, also pointed out that the shortage of teachers in the science subjects at St. Stanislaus College is being addressed.
He said that an advertisement will be placed in the media on the vacancies that exist and if this is unsuccessful, the school board will appoint persons either on a full-time or part-time basis, who, in their judgment, are capable of doing the job.
Apart from these strategies, Baksh said his ministry will be looking to recruit third and fourth year UG students to teach the classes where the shortage exists.
St. Stanislaus College secured an 88 per cent pass rate Grades One to Three at the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and was ranked eighth in the country.
Baksh lauded the school’s performance but contended that much more can be done, and said he will be looking forward to a better showing at next year’s examinations.  
The minister underlined that significant efforts are being made to improve students’ performance in Mathematics, English and the Sciences, and the Ministry of Education can ill afford to allow inadequate delivery of these subjects in school to go unnoticed.

Interventions
The Ministry of Education has instituted remedial programmes at the secondary level, notably at Grades Seven, Eight and Nine, for poor performers in Mathematics and English, and will be distributing DVDs with lessons in Mathematics, English and the Sciences at the CSEC level to secondary schools throughout the country.
It has been proposed and favourably received by headteachers that those Grade 10 students who fail to show any sign of  improvement from the remedial programme should not be allowed to sit Mathematics and English at the CSEC examinations.
They also agreed that students must obtain 75 per cent and more at Grade Nine to sit eight subjects and more at the CSEC examinations, but the final decision rests with the parents and headteacher of the school. 
Literature has also been made a compulsory subject at Grades Seven, Eight and Nine, to promote reading, and low achievers at the primary level are being placed at remedial Form One schools to be upgraded to secondary school standards.
The Ministry is working too with five of the poorest performing primary and secondary schools in all education districts to improve their level of performance at the national and regional examinations respectively.
Baksh also appealed to headteachers to allocate more time to the teaching of Mathematics and English at Fifth Form, and said a team of specialists has been set up at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) to give support to schools that need help in this regard.
This year, the Ministry recorded an improvement in students’ performance in both Mathematics and English, and the minister noted that these initiatives are intended to not only maintain the successes achieved, but to improve that performance in 2011.
Speaking directly on the sciences, Baksh disclosed that his ministry is working with relevant stakeholders to develop a national science and technology policy which will in part advance strategies to promote these subjects in school.
The minister also said that he will make a request for more money in the 2011 budget to equip science laboratories in schools, as well as grants for schools, notably the Sixth Form Schools to meet their operational expenses.