The Ministry of Education is prepared to reassign qualified Mathematics teachers who are not delivering satisfactory results as it intensifies efforts to address Antigua and Barbuda’s 30.3 per cent CSEC Mathematics pass rate.

Director of Education Clare Browne said officials will examine the qualifications, placement and performance of Mathematics teachers at every secondary school before the new academic year.

Browne said teachers are generally employed as teachers rather than permanently attached to a particular subject, giving the ministry scope to move staff where necessary.

“When teachers are hired, teachers are hired as teachers. They’re not hired as Math teachers, English teachers,” Browne said during an ABS Presents discussion on the preliminary 2026 CXC results.

He noted that some teachers are recruited as specialists in subjects such as Mathematics and Spanish after their qualifications are assessed. However, he said qualifications alone would not guarantee that a teacher remains in a particular Mathematics classroom.

“We look at your qualifications. We ensure that you are qualified to deliver in the Math area,” Browne said.

“Even if you have the paper qualifications and you’re not delivering, and we have to kind of move you out of a situation, then we will.”

Browne stressed that the ministry was not attacking Mathematics teachers and acknowledged that many have been working hard to improve student performance.

“I’m not knocking teachers because I know our teachers are trying hard,” he said. “But we’re ensuring that we place our Math teachers in the best possible position so that they are able to do the best for their charges.”

Antigua and Barbuda’s 30.3 per cent CSEC Mathematics pass rate was nearly 12 percentage points below the regional average of 42 per cent.

Browne described the result as disheartening, particularly because the Mathematics Unit and teachers have already been implementing measures intended to improve student achievement.

“I know the Math Unit has been doing much. I know our teachers have been doing much in terms of seeking to improve the Math situation,” he said.

“It just appears as if the struggle is real and the struggle continues. But the struggle, we will continue to fight until we overcome.”

The Mathematics Unit is reviewing the staffing arrangement at each secondary school to determine whether teachers are properly placed.

Education Officer for Mathematics Dr. Honor David has returned from doctoral studies focused on teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and Mathematics, with Mathematics as her principal area.

The ministry has also appointed Nicole Russell-Richards as an education officer responsible for Mathematics at the primary level. Browne said the addition of a second Mathematics officer demonstrates the ministry’s commitment to addressing weaknesses from the early years.

David’s work will focus mainly on upper-primary and secondary education, while Russell-Richards will concentrate on primary schools.

The Mathematics Unit also has curriculum support officers who will enter classrooms to monitor instruction and mentor teachers.

“We’re going to be going into the classrooms, monitoring and mentoring, because we need to be sure as to what is happening there,” Browne said.

The ministry will also inspect school timetables to ensure students are receiving the required amount of Mathematics instruction.

Under existing policy, kindergarten students should receive 200 minutes of Mathematics instruction weekly, while students in Grades One through Six should receive at least 255 minutes.

At secondary schools operating on a five-day cycle, first-form students should receive six Mathematics periods weekly, while students in Forms Two through Five should receive at least five.

Schools operating on a six-day cycle should provide seven Mathematics periods for first-form students and six for students in Forms Two through Five.

Browne said the ministry would monitor compliance while continuing to provide training and classroom support to teachers.

“We’re going to be checking to ensure that students are getting the requisite hours in quality Math,” he said.

Browne described himself as generally “evolutionary rather than revolutionary” but said the poor Mathematics results may require the ministry to take difficult staffing decisions.

“Sometimes you have to take hard decisions,” he said. “I’m not the kind of rock-the-boat kind of guy. Sometimes I know that we have to rock a boat.”

He added: “If we have to move people out, then we’re prepared to move people out. We have to do something. It cannot be business as usual.”

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Education Ministry Prepared to Reassign Underperforming Mathematics Teachers.