News

 The Government of Dominica continues to introduce new initiatives to assist with the advancement of education across the island.

Minister for Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training and National Excellence Hon. Octavia Alfred says a team of education officers was recently commissioned to study the issues with the attainment levels of students’ performances along gender lines.

“This year, we continue to observe disparities in students’ performance along gender lines. In recognition of this trend, the Ministry recently commissioned a working group comprising principals, teachers, and staff from the Ministry of Education with the sole focus of studying the phenomenon with the hopes of arriving at practical recommendations for addressing this challenge. The group has had a number of meetings with stakeholders including students. The working group is currently at the data collecting stage where information is being collected from teachers, school principals, students, parents, community members and industry stakeholders among others,” Honourable Alfred stated.

Minister Alfred says work on this initiative will continue into the next school year.

“Work on this initiative will continue into the next school year and we hope to engage the public soon on ways we can create more learning opportunities that resonate with our boys and help to improve their achievement levels,” she noted.

The Education Minister says this intervention is necessary to address the needs of the students at an early stage.

“This intervention programme is necessary because we need to identify the challenges that our boys face and provide high quality teaching to address heir difficulties and give effective support at the Ministry level as early as possible in areas of curriculum assessment, leadership and management,” the Minister explained.

Minister Alfred says students who are introduced to reading at an early stage excels in the exams. She called on parents to play their part.

“Based on the results we can also conclude that reading is fundamental to students’ success at the Grade Six National Assessment. Students who are competent in reading after three years of primary school do better in the Grade ix National Assessment. Conversely, reading levels are low after three years of primary education performance is negatively impacted. We must, therefore, recommit to raising levels of reading in the classroom, but more so to engender an early love for reading in the home. Here again, parents and guardians are encouraged to do their part to prepare students for long term academic success. Help grow a love for reading among our children by exposing them to books, by reading to them, and by encouraging them to choose a book over other forms of entertainment,” the Minister noted.  

Minister Alfred says the dedication of the staff and teachers of the schools reflects in the performance of the students.

“The Ministry of Education analysis includes not only the top performing schools but the top performing students. We are especially proud of the schools which, through the efforts of effective principals and teams of dedicated and hardworking teachers, have managed to improve their performance standards. This is undoubtedly a positive sign for education and we welcome this indication of upward movement in our students’ attainment levels,” Minister Alfred added.