UTech president warns weak CSEC maths results threaten Jamaica’s STEM workforce

University of Technology, Jamaica president Dr Kevin Brown says Jamaica’s ambition to build a STEM-driven, knowledge-based economy is being held back by weak CSEC passes in mathematics and English, leaving too few students ready for tertiary study.

Brown said the country needs a stronger stream of high school graduates with the qualifications required for university-level science, technology, engineering and mathematics programmes. Citing a recent paper by Paul Bourne of the Vocational Training Development Institute, he said pass rates in maths and English from 2015 to 2023 have generally stayed below 60 per cent, while mathematics has usually fallen under 40 per cent. He said the maths pass rate last year was 44 per cent.

UTech, which Brown described as a specialised STEM university, normally requires five CSEC passes including mathematics and English. Of about 30,000 students sitting CSEC, he said only roughly 6,000 meet that standard, while another estimated 5,000 earn five passes but lack either maths or English. UTech usually takes in about 3,000 students each year.

Brown said the challenge is not new, but Jamaica must move faster to improve numeracy and make mathematics more engaging from early childhood. He pointed to inequities affecting students in low-income and disadvantaged communities, the need for minimum standards in school infrastructure, and opportunities to rebuild more fairly after Melissa. He also noted that e-Learning Jamaica has been placing more technology, including smart boards, in schools while teachers are being trained to use digital tools.

He said UTech’s new STEM summer camp for high school students uses robotics to show how mathematics works in real applications, from software to coordinates. Brown argued that maths teaching should be more hands-on, project-based and connected to Jamaican life, while also warning that teacher shortages and overseas recruitment of strong teachers are adding pressure.

Brown said education reform is under way through the Orlando Patterson report, with the Government about 30 per cent into the recommendations. He backed the focus on early-childhood literacy and numeracy, noting that some grade-seven students are reading at grade-four level and some are functionally illiterate.

At the university level, Brown said UTech is widening access beyond the traditional five-CSEC route where possible, including consideration of work experience, City and Guilds mathematics, HEART Level Three qualifications and bridging courses. He said some programmes, including engineering and pharmacy, will still require strong CSEC mathematics grades.