MINISTER of Education Glenys Hanna Martin speaking in the House of Assembly. Photo: Dante Carrer
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS
Tribune Staff Reporter
lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
EDUCATION Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin yesterday highlighted positive trends in the latest results from the Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) and the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examinations, noting that improvements have been seen across the islands.
The 2024 BJC examination saw 10,745 candidates from 63 government schools and 74 independent and private centres, a slight decrease of 1.72% from the 10,933 candidates in 2023.
Of these, 1,388 candidates achieved grades of C or higher in at least five subjects, a minor decline from 1,417 in 2023. Additionally, 1,948 candidates received grades of D or above in five or more subjects, a slight increase from 1,945 last year.
1,298 candidates earned at least a C in Mathematics, English, and Science subjects, down from 1,402 in 2023. This decrease may be attributed to recent adjustments in the National High School Diploma requirements.
The 2024 BGCSE examination, marking its 32nd sitting since 1993, involved 5,935 candidates from 41 government schools and 66 independent/private centres. This represents a 10.05 per cent increase from the 5,393 candidates in 2023. The total number of grades awarded rose to 20,598, a 9.99 per cent increase from 18,727 grades in 2023.
The performance of male and female candidates reflects overall trends in the BGCSE exams. Both groups have improved their percentages of A to C grades, decreased in D to G grades, and shown increases in U grades. Females continue to outperform males, although males have made greater strides in improving B grades and reducing D and F grades.
This year, 653 candidates achieved grades of C or higher in at least five subjects, up from 544 in 2023. Additionally, 1,009 candidates obtained a minimum grade of D in five or more subjects, compared to 901 candidates last year. 431 candidates achieved at least a C in Mathematics, English, and Science subject, an improvement from 303 in 2023, reflecting a positive trend.
"The numbers demonstrate that we have gotten our children back into school. That we are mitigating the effects of the pandemic loss, and that we are poising our young people for success. We are pleased to see the improvements among our girls and boys," Ms Hanna-Martin said.
The BGCSE covers 27 subjects, including Literature, English Language, Bookkeeping & Accounts, Economics, Office Procedures, Keyboarding Skills, Commerce, Biology, Chemistry, Combined Science, Physics, Mathematics, Carpentry & Joinery, Graphical Communication, Electrical Installation, Auto Mechanics, Clothing Construction, Food & Nutrition, History, Religious Studies, Geography, Art & Design Scheme A, Art & Design Scheme B, Art & Design Scheme C, Music, Spanish, and French.
Read Monday's Tribune for more information.
Comments
bahamianson 3 weeks, 4 days ago
Bunch of lies. They will never have anything bad to say , all good mak3s them look good while the children are failing.
ExposedU2C 3 weeks, 4 days ago
Hard to believe that a lowly grade of 'D' is considered to be the minimum passing grade for a BJC exam in any of the subjects offered. Even harder to believe that only 1948 of the 10745 BJC candidates received grades of D or above in five or more subjects.
My niece who was a teacher at one of the private schools here in Nassau and now teaches seventh grade at a public school in Georgia told me last year that a student's academic level would have to be regarded as unacceptably deficient if they could not achieve at least a grade of 'B' in five or more of the BJC subjects, including mathematics, English language and combined science.
It is also difficult to believe that only 653 of the 5,935 BGCSE candidates received a passing grade of C or higher in at least five subjects.
And to think the very loud-mouthed, incompetent and looney Hanna-Martin would have us believe these statistics are evidence of a positive trend. What a joke when you consider that the difficulty of both the BJC and BGCSE exams has been so watered-down in recent years in a deceitful effort to cover-up the dismal state of our nation's education system by portraying rosier statistics that have no grounding in reality.
sheeprunner12 3 weeks, 3 days ago
Not only are the exams "watered down" compared to a generation ago ...... the national exams are MARKED on a curve to ensure that a certain percentage of students PASS each subject.
Do not think for once that these kids actually achieved a 61% on these external exams to get a "C" .......... It may have been 45% that the curve gave as a "C" grade.
There is much that the public does not know about these exam results.
ExposedU2C 3 weeks, 3 days ago
Good point!
Bobsyeruncle 3 weeks, 3 days ago
It is also difficult to believe that only 653 of the 5,935 BGCSE candidates received a passing grade of C or higher in at least five subjects.
I wouldn't put it so kindly. I would state 90% of candidates failed to achieve a grade of C or higher in at least 5 subjects. I think that gives a much better perspective as to the state of education in this country.
ExposedU2C 3 weeks, 3 days ago
Notice too how the ministry of education (Hanna-Martin) makes sure the private school statistics are meshed in with the public school statistics in order to deceitfully hide just how dysfunctional and bad the public schools are at teaching their students.
Too many of the public school 'graduates' are border line literate at best. Frankly, too many of the teachers on government's payroll are themselves border line literate and lack the professionalism and demeanor for teaching students in any setting.
And make no mistake about it, Hanna-Martin is simply much too incompetent and unfit to have ministerial responsibility for what many would say is the most important cabinet portfolio there is. She bears full responsibility for so many unfit teachers and 'education' administrators being on the government's payroll. As we all know, a student robbed of a decent education during their most formative years, has little chance of succeeding at anything meaningful in life and usually becomes a terrible burden on society as a whole.
Bobsyeruncle 3 weeks, 3 days ago
.
DiverBelow 3 weeks, 3 days ago
This is an example of "Da DUMBING of Da Populus" for dictatorial purposes... the concept of "the dumb are easier to control via lies & deception." The truth is, the time & treasure governments do not spend on their education responsibility, the private industry must spend again to minimaly educate for their pertinent industry. Resulting in a Minimally Functioning Economy at TWICE THE COST!. DON'T LIKE THE RESULTS... DEMAND CHANGE. It's your responsibility & $$$.
pileit 3 weeks, 2 days ago
honestly, even without a rigorous academic state program, the populace still chooses to be dumb, all the tiktok & instagram garbage could be replaced with youtube tutorials from all manner of expert sources, all the way up to MIT audited lectures! We have become entertainment and titillation induced donkeys
ExposedU2C 3 weeks, 2 days ago
And to think that TikTok is banned in Red China by the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) because of its known (proven) harmful effects in spreading misinformation and disinformation, destroying critical-thinking skills, and dumbing-down of the human mind generally, especially among young people.
Certain corrupt elected officials in the US Congress who are beholden to the CCP were able to block passage of legislation that would have banned the use of TikTok throughout the US. Chief among them was the very corrupt Chuck Schumer, leader of the US Senate.
moncurcool 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Could someone please explain to me how a D is a passing grade?
Is it any wonder that we are so dumb down in this country?
Still trying to figure out the positive trend.
ThisIsOurs 3 weeks, 2 days ago
There will be the argument from Education that with the new grading scheme, a D isnt a D. Each grade has some meaning signifying the students level of understanding of the material. And that's fine, give everybody a "T", but the important thing is, what does a "T" translate to outside the country? Or is a T only to be used in country to tell an employer that while Johnny couldnt add and cant read well, if you give him verbal instructions, he'll be able understand and do the job.
I understand the intent, but I'm not sure that enabling the bottom to look at the bottom in a positive light will make students want to do better
When I heard Hanna Martin's contribution, I honestly thought there was dramatic improvement. But it's TRUE that positive movement is better than negative movement
moncurcool 3 weeks, 1 day ago
That is the problem. Outside of the county a D is a D, and it stands for failing.
Do we really think we can just come up and invent a new thing for a D to make it seem like a pass?
That only makes us looks like idiots to the world.
Our education systems needs a total revamp from the chalk and talk and having children just memorize information to regurgitate on a test. But no one is willing to admit the problem and do the heaving lifting to change ou system.
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