Outdated teaching methods, inadequate resources in rural areas, low attendance and poor parental engagement such as not monitoring homework and not attending school meetings are being blamed for the 6,000 Year 8 students who failed this year’s external exam.
These causes were highlighted by Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro.
Radrodro says many students are also progressing to higher grades without mastering the necessary skills, creating gaps in their academic knowledge.
In response to these issues, Radrodro says the Ministry will review and update the curriculum to ensure it is relevant and meets the diverse needs of students.
He says the plan is to provide more training for teachers to use effective, up-to-date teaching methods and ensure that resources are allocated to schools in rural areas.
He adds that the automatic progression policy will be revised to ensure that students only move to the next grade once they have mastered the required skills.
Radrodro further says they pledge to invest in technology and infrastructure to support education in under-resourced areas.
Opposition Group of 9 member, Aliki Bia says many schools use third-term exam results for student selection.
Bia says the curriculum should be updated to keep pace with changing times.
Meanwhile, Opposition Group of 16 member, Hem Chand expressed alarm over the poor performance.
He says there is a need for a thorough analysis of the results to identify the causes such as lack of resources or inadequate teaching.
Chand called for targeted support to help the 6,000 students who failed the exam, urging the Ministry to provide better teacher training and assistance for struggling students.
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