Eighty math specialists and coaches who have been recruited by the Ministry of Education under the National Mathematics Programme are to be deployed in 150 primary and secondary schools across the island, starting today.

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites was expected to give details about the programme and the planned deployment of the math specialists during a national back-to-school broadcast scheduled for yesterday evening.

desirable levels

However, the ministry says the engagement of the coaches is just one component of its response to the less- than-desirable levels of performance in mathematics, particularly at the secondary level.

The education ministry says significant work is also being done with all teacher-training institutions, school principals and other school administrators who are being urged to pay closer attention to the teaching and learning of maths.

It says the drive to improve performance in math is driven by developments in the global environment, which point to an increase in jobs which require mastery of basic and more complex mathematical concepts.