Several initiatives to boost pass rates on the horizon –  Parag

The Ministry of Education is exploring several initiatives to support students ahead of the 2026 examination period, as part of countrywide efforts to boost pass rates, subject Minister Sonia Parag has said.

Parag spoke about the education sector on Friday when she appeared as a guest on the Starting Point Podcast. She said existing initiatives are being expanded while new ones are being developed.

The Mathematics Intervention Programme, implemented by former Education Minister Priya Manickchand, is one venture that has been delivering results.

Parag said when she took over the ministry, there were some 50 math monitors overlooking the subject’s progress at schools. Now, there are 84 and 18 schools are benefitting from the programme for the first time. It is being offered virtually, making access to resources much easier for students.

“We know mathematics is a practical subject. We are going to facilitate these maths monitors being in these regions and being in these schools for weeks at a time to be with the students face to face, it’s not only virtual,” the minister said.

In 2025, the overall pass rate for the National Grade Six Assessment was 63, an increase from 49 per cent. For the CSEC exams, the overall pass rate was 66.76 per cent (Grades I – III) and for CAPE, the overall pass rate was 91.9 per cent.

Another effort is the newly-launched programme, the Adopt-A-School Initiative. By adopting a school, teachers and Deputy Chief Education Officers (DECOs) are monitoring the schools directly.

“These teachers are adopting a school and they are dedicating the next couple months to ensuring that the curriculum is being taught and the methodology of how it is being taught is working,” the minister said.

Math tents will also be implemented at communities, with teachers volunteering to conduct math lessons outside of the classrooms.

Initiatives that work well in some school are also being developed in others.

“We are evaluating school by school by school. We are looking at moving schools that are at zero pass rate, and even if they move to a one per cent pass rate, you are capturing a number of students and that is how we are going to work toward long-term solutions,” she said.