The Department of Community, Youth and Sports has started a Second Opportunity Education Programme in response to the 2019 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results.
According to Director of the department Lyston Skerritt, the Second Opportunity Education Programme seeks to increase the number of youth on island with the minimum academic requirements for employment in the public service and desired by many private sector employers. The indicators will be successful completion of English and Math courses and re-sits of the CSEC exams.
The target group for the programme are youth currently in the Apprenticeship scheme and recent graduates of the Montserrat Secondary School who attained a grade four in one or both subjects in the May/June 2019 exams. The programme will identify learning styles, define problematic topics or sections and provide supplemental instruction towards topics.
Skerritt said funding was already in place for the programme and they want to begin working with the young people as early as next week. He credited Helena Dorsette, who works in his office for the original concept for the programme.
“The recent results of the Caribbean Examination Council O ’Levels 2019 for Montserrat indicate a continued deficiency in academic attainment. This year only 26% of the cohort obtained 5+ CSEC passes including Math and English. This performance is down from the 43% obtained in 2018. The programme seeks to address those who have already graduated from the school system while other efforts will be made to have intervention within the school,” stated the release.
For more information on joining the programme contact the Department of Community, Youth and Sports at 664-491.
