Marginalised students, targets of School Improvement Project

Greater focus needs to be given to improving the access of students with special needs in order to improve the education outcomes for this group of learners.

This was the view expressed by the Minister of Education, Curtis King, during the recent launch of the School Improvement Project Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Multiplier.

The GPE is a global fund comprising a coalition of countries, international organizations, civil society groups, national and local teachers associations, as well as youth service groups where grant funding is provided with the goal of advancing education, especially for marginalized students. St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) signed on as a member in 2016, and has been allocated $13 million of the $43 million granted to OECS Member States.

Speaking to stakeholders at the July 11, 2025 event, Minister King addressed the portion of the local education population where he noted that there is still work to be done.

“We still have major challenges in the system. Even though I boast about access, there is still a group, and a significant group of students where we must enhance their access. I speak about those students in special education needs, basically the students with disabilities.”

He noted that there are instances where special needs students have been excelling, noting the achievement of Thomas George, a student of the School for Children with Special Needs, Kingstown who ranked in the top 80 for boys in the Caribbean Primary Exist Assessment (CPEA) this year.

Minister King said while the public was surprised by George’s results, he knows that special needs students who are entered to do the CPEA have been performing well in that examination.

He said in other mainstream schools across the country, special needs students are “holding their own” and proving they can operate on the same level as their peers.

“In Georgetown Secondary, we have four students living with disabilities, but they are holding their own with support in the secondary school system.”

He disclosed that the school has two students who are blind and two hearing impaired students, while the Adelphi Secondary School has one hearing impaired student.

Additionally, he said that the Fair Hall Government School has become a “household name” for the “impressive” work they are doing with special needs students. In the Grenadines, he said a pilot project has just been completed which focused on the integration of students with disabilities into the mainstream school system.

“As much as we have done greatly in terms of access, we still have some work to do,” King said, adding that the project, which is a collaboration with the GPE and the Caribbean Development Bank, has a special focus on Special Needs Education.

Improving outcomes in Mathematics is also part of the project’s objectives as Director of Projects at the CDB, O’Riley Lewis explained that poor Mathematics performance is a persistent problem affecting regional learners.

“We know that persistent underperformance in Mathematics has long affected learning outcomes and eliminated opportunities for too many young people in the Caribbean.”

He said the activities being undertaken in the project are “transformational” such as the CDB-developed Framework for Mathematics (FAME) which was conceptualized in 2018.

The Multiplier component of the project will see an allocation of $US5 million. The Multiplier instrument is one that works in conjunction with other sources of external funding. Any funding secured through the Multiplier adds to the other GPE grants a country can access.