LAST week, the National Schools’ Math and English Competition was launched with the objectives being to assist in improving the proper usage of English, and to encourage students, and the wider society, to have a better appreciation for mathematics.

Executive producer of the competition, educator Neville Johnson, said the competition as designed to counter the fact that students have the problems of proper usage of English and an inability to liken maths concepts to everyday experiences.

He added that these problems exist in every strata of Jamaica’s life, and that the competition aims to put math and English into action.

At the launch event held on Tuesday, at the St Luke’s Church Hall in Cross Roads, Johnson told the audience that it is his intention to do everything necessary to transform Jamaicans’ negative culture towards English and mathematics, as he sees the mastery of these core content areas as critical tools “for social, economic, and personal development and growth”. If a person cannot read and write properly, and do basic math, that person lacks the basic rudiments of numeracy and literacy, which generally adds to low self-esteem, he explained.

Ministry of Education director of mathematics for Region 1, Davion Leslie, in his presentation to the attendees at the launch, said that a competition of this nature will get the full support of the Ministry of Education, especially in the area of human resources. He stressed the importance of mathematics and English and called on Jamaicans to start working seriously on their competence level in both.

“We need to change the culture or the perception that we have for mathematics in particular. We need to regard maths as an important subject that can drive development and growth. Science and technology are the leading forces that are driving a lot of countries’ growth and development. Mathematics is part of the overall component of science and technology. And if we do not adapt, we are going to be left behind,” noted Leslie.

Guest speaker at the launch, Ricardo Allen, managing director at One on One Learning Institute, also spoke to the importance of maths and English, and noted that it was one of the major drawbacks in the society.

This was noted as among the reasons the country continues to perform poorly in the regional CSEC examination in the areas.

Allen posited that a society well-equipped with math and English skills will find all other content areas of study less difficult to manage, which would augur well for a better Jamaican workforce, which will help to boost social and economic growth and development.

The competition begins in November and will see schools divided into two categories, junior and a senior, across six zones. Pupils from the primary, all-age and preparatory schools will be assigned to the junior group, while the senior group will comprise high school students.

Zone 1 will be Kingston and St Andrew; Zone 2, Portland, St Mary, St Thomas; Zone 3, St Ann, Trelawny; Zone 4, St James, Hanover, Westmoreland; Zone 5, Manchester, St Elizabeth; and Zone 6, Clarendon, St Catherine.

The winning schools will receive the master’s trophy and the students will receive laptops or tablets, plus scholarships, while the coaches will get cash incentives. The second-placed schools will receive a trophy and the students will receive laptops or tablets and half-scholarship. A trophy and half scholarships will go to students of third-placed schools.

The competition will be aired on BESS 100 FM radio.