The Ministry of Education is celebrating a 71 per cent pass nationally for the 2014 CSEC examinations.

Minister of Education Girlyn Miguel stated, at the CXC regional results announcement ceremony yesterday, that this year’s result was a two per cent increase on 2013’s 69 per cent.{{more}}

“I thank and congratulate the principals and teachers of the secondary schools for their work with the students and …hope that the overall pass rate will continue to increase,” Miguel said.

Despite the noticeable improvements, both in specific subject areas and overall performance, the minister stated that attention must be paid to specific factors.

“While we are pleased to report that there is an increase this year in the performance of the majority of schools in the CSEC, we admit that we have to pay close attention to the quality of the passes and to the performance of our students on some of the most critical profiles such as comprehension, expression and application,” she said.

In a detailed report of this year’s performance, Miguel noted that the mathematics pass rate jumped from 28.44 per cent in 2013 to 47.03 percent in 2014.

“While this is dramatic and a cause for joy, we must be cautioned to measure this success against the backdrop of challenges which exist in the global arena where mathematical literacy is premium and indispensable in development,” the minister said.

Additionally, the overall pass rate of English A increased to 61.54 per cent in 2014, in comparison to 58.92 in 2013.

Miguel pointed out that “this is a modest improvement upon which we must continue to build if we are to compete meaningfully not with ourselves, but the rest of the world. While 71 per cent of the cohort was awarded passing grades at CSEC, it must be noted that only 41.7 per cent gained passes in five subjects including mathematics and English A.”

In his presentation, Dr Charles Mayenga, the senior assistant registrar for the Examinations Development Production Division at CXC, revealed that St Vincent and the Grenadines had a better performance in 21 out of 32 subject areas when compared to the region.

Mayenga noted that the country had recorded 100 per cent passes in a large number of subjects and said that this is a cause for celebration. However, he also highlighted some areas where there needed to be improvement.

“As we celebrate, we also need to look at the subjects where we have not done very well,” he said. “You need to put some effort, need to bring it to the same level as other particular subjects.”

According to the senior assistant registrar, SVG recorded 73 per cent in English B for persons obtaining grades from Grade I to III. The region recorded 69 per cent.

While stating that English A was an essential subject to students, Mayenga revealed that overall, this country obtained 56 per cent passes.

“We would like it to be higher than 56 [per cent],” he said.

Additionally, he observed that although there was a local and regional improvement as it related to mathematics, more work needed to be done, as the results were still below 50 per cent.

According to CXC officials, St Vincent and the Grenadines has been improving year after year in the number of candidates that sign up to sit the CSEC examinations.(BK)