The Barbados Community College said Friday it has been forced to adjust its admission standards following a significant drop in pass rates for Mathematics in this year’s Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams.
Principal Annette Alleyne revealed that the college has introduced an additional programme to help incoming students improve their grades before they can fully embark on their chosen courses of study.
“This is an issue that has played out at BCC for a number of years, where we haven’t been able to accept students,” Alleyne said during a convocation ceremony at the college. “A huge part of the problem has been that a number of them don’t receive certification in Maths at the CXC level. This year it has been worse, worse than it normally is. Students haven’t received the grades at CXC that they were hoping to get or that we were hoping for them to get.”
In August, CXC revealed that overall pass rates for Mathematics had dropped from 78 per cent in 2023 to 76 per cent this year. The decline in Maths performance was particularly concerning, with the pass rate plummeting from 48 per cent to just 36 per cent.
Over the past five years, an average of 11 500 students failed to meet the basic requirement of passing both Mathematics and English annually, significantly affecting their academic and employment prospects. Registrar and CEO of CXC Dr Wayne Wesley noted that this trend has negative implications for the region’s economic competitiveness.
Mathematics is a critical requirement for enrolment in the BCC’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programmes, as well as its natural sciences courses. Senior tutor in the Division of Natural Science, Arlyn Linton-Jones, confirmed that the low grades had severely impacted her department.
“You cannot get into the division without having a grade 1, 2 or 3 in CXC Maths. In the past, we mainly accepted grade 1s and 2s, but we had no choice this year but to allow grade 3s,” Linton-Jones explained, noting that interest in pursuing a Pure Mathematics degree had also waned.
“The number of persons pursuing an associate degree in Mathematics is low. In the past, there would have been 60 per year group and above, but that has dropped to roughly 45 and under. Even the students that have passed Mathematics and who we suggested Mathematics to would rather do another major.”
She added that there seemed to be a psychological aversion to the subject among students: “I think a lot of the teenagers have a fear of Mathematics, they don’t see it as enjoyable, they don’t understand that maths is in everything that you do. It doesn’t matter which career you’re going into, maths is applicable.”
BCC Registrar Roger Worrell suggested that early intervention was needed to address this problem.
“It is possible that we need more specialised Maths teachers in the early school system. For example, maybe at the primary and secondary level to stimulate interest in Maths because there is almost a fear of Maths. If you don’t have that foundation it will impact your future performance in Maths at CSEC level,” he said.
In response to the worsening situation, BCC has introduced a new programme to support students’ Maths struggles. Alleyne explained that the new initiative, dubbed the “preliminary year”, would give students extra time to work on Maths and other sciences before entering the college’s first-year programmes.
She said: “If they are successful in that year, then they can matriculate into our first-year programmes in science or in the Division of Health Sciences.”
This change means students will spend three years pursuing an associate degree instead of the usual two years. Linton-Jones added that the college is also diversifying its teaching methods and incorporating technology to make Mathematics more engaging for students. (SZB)
