Education Minister, Petter Saint Jean says government will undertake reviews to target schools with significantly low performance levels in the Grade Six National Assessment (G6NA).
Saint Jean said at a press conference on Tuesday that the reviews will assist the government in determining the possible reasons for the underperformance as well as help to devise solutions to tackle it.
“Over the years we have been addressing the issue of boys’ underachievement and we will continue to undertake reviews in targeted schools where performance levels are significantly low and where we have noticed is significant disparity between the performance of boys versus girls,” he said. We will also be specifically targeting schools where students overall performance are significantly below average.”
Saint Jean stated also that the government will continue to monitor students’ performance as well as “provide assistance in instruction for improve teaching and learning.”
Meantime Chief Education Officer, Melena Fontaine, said variations in the scores of the G6NA, by gender, show that girls are performing better.
“Still our girls are doing a little better than the boys, although in some areas the gap is closing and we would like to see more of that happening,” she explained.
Fontaine advised parents that over the summer holidays to ensure that their children spend time practising literacy and numeracy.
“We need to improve not only in numeracy but in literacy and I ask parents over the summer holidays to ensure that their children spend time with literacy and numeracy,” she advised.
Just a sugesstion. The schools should be cartegorized on the number of students who sit the exams when they are being ranked. For exapmle less than 10 students,10-25 students, 25- 50 students and more than 50 students. It is not possible for a school which sends in 95 students to get 100% scholarships sice only about 80 is given, wheras a school who send 5 can get all scholarships. this whould show the school getting 100% and ranked much higer than the school with 95 students and get 25 scholarships. That school might not even be on the list of top schools
Parents be parents, and support and assist your children, do not leave them for the teachers to raise…… school should be a learning institution, stop using it as day care. Petite Savanne has strong family values, and a community still raises a child.
More social workers are needed at schools. This is an ill society, the children are emotionally and psychologically ill, most teachers are not equipped and are not counsellors. Children need counselling before they can be receptive of knowledge. Do not compare Pioneer, St Martin, Convent prep school with other schools. All pioneer students generally come from stable homes with both parents present and productive members of society. The rest of Dominican students generally come from broken homes, they need their social issues fix before they can academically exhale.
Too many people acting in the public service, is it a movie? Principals are using appraisals as a punitive measure instead of as a staff development tool…
FireThey need to fire all the teachers at the Salybia primary school,all they good for is to take out pictures of themselves and post on facebook.Not one pass ? What a big shame.
Its rather interesting that you would generalized in this way..knowing that there are teachers at the salybia primary school without a facebook account, left me to wonder if thats all you are good at: going on facebook to mind people’s business..even a bigger shame on you
Some teachers form the fool. Always late, absent or sick. Most teachers work very hard. Harder than St Jean or Melina Fontaine. I am from Grandbay and I can give you a list of these hard workers from primary and secondary. One such male from the secondary school is my role model..A Good Example, since I want to be a tracher one day.
To be a teacher you have to learn to spell eh!
Oh you idiot. This is simply a typographical error.
Last year, Sineku and Salybia primary were the only schools in the east that got scholarships. Again this year, Sineku primary got a scholarship while Salybia and Atkinson didn’t.
What should be mentioned or asked is how are scholarships and bursaries awarded. You think they are awarded primarily on performance? When the list goes to cabinet for discussion, who knows what takes place. Politics.
Another thing, why are schools rated based on G6NA results?
I believe the two circus clowns simply want to be seen and heard, since they have nothing better to do!
I wonder why; and (I doh calling dem name eh), but I wonder why when a certain government man in Skerrit circus was a so called teacher, the man would assign written problems for his students to do.
The students completed their work correctly, however, certain circus clown would mark the children work wrong! However, the sad children would take their work home, and when their parent check, they usually find all the answers the children wrote correct.
Ah wonder why dem same government man did not call for a review when he was failing children because he did what he was him, the problem was him who could not do the same work he had assigned!
How do they know that the children are not progressing when they are more dunce than the students?
No warrant no arrest eh. BEB this is one crime perhaps you solve that will be the only one you solve in your entire life!
“because he did what he was him, the problem was him who could not do the same work he had assigned!”
Because he did not know what he was doing, he could not solve the problem to the work he had assigned! Ah still doh call him name eh!
Please people stop this teacher this and teacher that talk. From my experience these people are very hard workers. I have worked with alot and is still continuing to assist them. These people are second parents. Just look at it. They baby sit and teach for 7 Plus hours a day. I’m referring to the primary schools. Plus they bring work home to work with the next day. Is like these people don’t have a life of theirs. Let’s support and assist them instead of talking this way about them. And support the children at home with their reading and writing. Give lots of practice.discipline them at home and encourage them to obey their teachers and listen attentively to the teacher during the lessons. Ah magwa Sah. Teachers don’t have it easy.
There are hard-working teachers in every school and some that need replacing. However the ministry of education sometimes expect too much from ill equipped teachers. I believe that there should be continuous training for teachers. There is the leaning support staff at the district education offices who do nothing to help the struggling teachers in the classroom. Believe me I know because I have been teaching in a particular community and we never see the learning support staff much less for the education officer year in, year out. Some of us teachers would like to upgrade ourselves but because of having a family and mortgage, we cannot afford it. By now the State college should be offering bachelors degree in Education. Learning support should get their laurels from the offices and visit the schools and help the struggling teachers.
Like Ms. Fontaine, I want to encourage parents to work with their children, not only during the summer, but throughout the child’s school life. If they need extra help from outside the classroom, try to get that help too.
I also want to encourage teachers to examine themselves and the effectiveness of their roles in the classroom. If you care enough to get the CHILDREN, not adults, to pay attention, and the weakest ones in the class understand the concept you are attempting to teach before you leave the class and before you attempt the next level of the subject then you are well on your way to doing a good job. Otherwise you are failing both yourself and the student and you should get the help required to assist you in doing your job well.
God bless our parents, teachers and students.
Mr St Jean you need to remove all teachers from the grandbay primary school the teachers that are there don’t care about the students all they care about is to talk about the kids and dere parents. Mr St Jean in time of miss Christian as principal I saw alot of progress at they school in time of teacher gettrude Annie cuffy and many more we use to see progress but right now take a good look at those that are there those are the ones hitting the students in dere heads insult the kids the entire teachers at the grandbay primary school needs to transfer to other school stop leaving them close to home send them all over different schools in Dominica you as minster of education need to work hard as of doin that who don’t want to go else where will not have a job and I know the principal is as bad as the teachers so its time for change
there are a number of others all over the island.
While some of the teachers can do better, the major problem is the home, and the environment. Too many parents think the school and the teacherscan do it all by themselves. A lot of
obscene language comes from the childrens mouth, and this is counter productive.
I concur. some teachers need to be moved around. they are too comfortable and engage in too much gossip and the children are the one suffering. Some teachers are trying. The ministry needs to look into the whole school administration. move some teacher around. some teacher insults students.. also the secondary school. How can you have teachers in relationships with students? please please please do something
referring to the grandbay catchment
Peter,
I have heard this mantra over and over AGAIN! Come September, the same old lazy and unproductive teachers will be entrusted with our childrens’ education once again.
There are simply too many useless so called teachers in the classrooms. Some of them from my school on the east are frequently out of school and the Principals CANNOT disciple them. People are on sick leave for months!
People come to work at 11 a.m instead of reporting for 9 a.m!
Children are always free at school because teachers don’t engage them.
So, do we really expect our childrens’ performance to improve? Peter?
I support you on the lateness issue, and absenteeism. But even the Ministry of Education cannot address these issues. It happens at the secondary level too.
Children will perform when the teachers stop beating them and insulting them. Those that are practicing more child friendly principles like Pioneer will continue to see results. The children concentrate on their work when they are comfortable that their best interest is at heart. Certain schools need to ask teachers to put away the big long stick they have.
Yes that’s true. Schools like Wesley, Sinecou and Grand Fond need a shake up! The teachers walk with sticks all over in the classrooms.
Because the children are too MAL CASAY! Train them properly, and you all will see results!
This is ludicrous! I can’t believe in this day and age teachers are still beating children at school. There are other forms of punishment u know.