Crawford accuses ministry of 'selling lie' with 48% CSEC Maths pass rate

 

 

Opposition Spokesman on Education Damion Crawford has said the recent 48.7 per cent pass rate achieved in CSEC Mathematics may look like progress but the figure is masking the country's real numeracy problem. 

 

The Maths pass rate rose from 34.5 per cent in 2024 to 43.1 per cent in 2025 and 48.7 per cent this year.

 

But Mr. Crawford contended that thousands of Grade 11 students enrolled in the system do not sit the exam annually. 

 

"The ministry continues to sell a lie by ignoring the numbers enrolled and focusing on the numbers allowed to sit. And so with 32-34,000 persons enrolled, the ministry will calculate mathematics percentage over the 18,000 [who were] allowed to sit, ignoring 14,000 [who were] not allowed. It should be 44 per cent of all 11th graders, not 44 per cent of the 50 per cent [who were] allowed to sit. And so the actual percentage is not 48 but 21 per cent. Of the 32-34,000 [who] should have done the exam, 7,000 passed, which means like 27,000 failed," he argued. 

 

The Ministry of Education has not yet published the final number of total individual candidates who sat each exam. 

 

In the meantime, Mr. Crawford said the sector is not ready for the scheduled September 7 reopening of schools. 

 

He said teacher migration, uncertified early childhood educators and institutions remain major issues that could disrupt teaching and learning outcomes.  

 

"Eighty-two per cent of our basic schools have not obtained the standards that government have set to allow them to be certified. And the vast majority of the teachers in our basic schools are untrained, depending on Level 2 HEART. When you go to some of these basic schools, the competence of the delivery might be high but the content is low, so they go home with 'LMNOP' The other part is available teachers... which has long been a problem ignored by government, with the last conversation that some will come from Africa. Well, where are the Africans? And this essence of unavailable teachers will be exaggerated by the fact that the teachers are currently dissatified and [have] not been accepted the proposal from government for pay," he reasoned.

 

The opposition spokesman was speaking at the People's National Party Region 4 National Executive Council meeting in Spanish Town on Sunday.