PAC demands action from Education Ministry

The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament today demanded that the Education Ministry take remedial action to address illiteracy among the country’s children.



The order followed the stunning revelation that at least 10 thousand illiterate children were promoted to high schools at the start of the new academic year in September.



Permanent Secretary in the education ministry, Audrey Sewell told the committee that the ministry has accepted that there is a crisis.



She pointed to a number of initiatives introduced by the ministry such as increasing the number of reading specialists in schools.



Executives from the ministry were asked by the committee chairman, Dr Omar Davies to give a response to the high levels of underperformance by students at the secondary level.



Acknowledging that they have promoted students who were non-literate to high schools, the ministry officials pledged to produce a comprehensive plan by November to significantly reduce the levels of illiteracy in secondary and primary schools.



However, the committee demanded improved results by next year.



Dissatisfied by the ministry\'s response to the nearly 21 per cent failure rate in the Grade Six Achievement Test, committee member Ronald Thwaites said the ministry was weak kneed in its approach to address the problem.



Another Committee member, Michael Stern suggested that a national voluntary programme should be launched over a two-year period to rescue the thousands of illiterate children in schools.