Denominational schools copped 95 per cent of the 443 national scholarships and the Ministry of Education intends to find out why Government schools are performing so badly.
Speaking at a press conference, in Parliament, yesterday to announce the top scholarship winners — Ashisha Nirupa Persad, Naparima Girls’ High School in San Fernando and Shivrani Prabhudial of Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu College are the winners of this year’s President’s Medals — Education Minister Anthony Garcia said Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and other members of Cabinet were not pleased with the performance of Government secondary schools.
He said Cabinet was “very concerned that from the Government secondary schools, including Queen’s Royal College and St George’s College, only five per cent of the scholarship winners came from those schools. Cabinet was not pleased with this.”
He said he was asked by the Cabinet to look at the situation closely with a view of ensuring that in our Government schools, where most of our resources are spent, the students do much better.
Asked to identify the factors that would have caused that result in the Government schools, Garcia said an in-depth investigation would be carried out and only when it was concluded he would be able to give reasons.
Garcia said the investigators would include his advisers, other officials from the ministry and school principals.
It would determine why Government schools were not performing as well as the denominational schools.
Garcia said 443 students have been awarded national scholarships.
He said 102 students would be awarded open scholarships, while the remaining 341 students will be awarded additional scholarships.
According to Garcia, Persad topped in mathematics, technology studies, natural sciences and environmental studies.
He said Prabhudial topped in business studies, languages, modern studies, technical studies, visual and performing arts and general studies.
Garcia said the awards were discussed and approved during the Cabinet meeting earlier yesterday.