EDUCATION Minister, Ronald Thwaites, is urging teachers of Mathematics to partner with the ministry in designing the appropriate pedagogy and methodologies to reverse the underperformance of students in Mathematics.

The minister was the keynote speaker at the opening of a two-day symposium on numeracy and literacy at the St. Joseph’s Teachers’ College campus in Kingston Wednesday.

He noted that mastery of numeracy at grade four is only about 40 per cent while only 60 per cent of students performed at “a reasonable level” in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).

He said that at the secondary level, the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results in Mathematics reflected “an even more gruesome picture” with passes in the region of 20 per cent.

The minister stated that the situation is untenable as “Mathematics is the gateway to scientific knowledge (and that) adequate literacy and numeracy are keys to the high level of skills certification which is of supreme importance for local and international employment.”

He is therefore urging teachers and teacher training institutions to help reverse the negative trend by changing the style and the method of delivery, among other methods.