–?? ?Maths, English still cause for concernBy Abena RockcliffeMinister of Education, Priya Manickchand was all smiles yesterday as she celebrated both her birthday and the good academic performance of Guyana as reflected in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examination.In Essequibo yesterday morning at the Anna Regina Multilateral,Cheap NFL Jerseys, Manickchand announced the general results that were obviously pleasing to her and her team from the Ministry—including Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam.The Minister, which has been serving in the Education Ministry for just about two years, said that she was happy about the results and excited that she got to celebrate it at the school that the top two students attended.Though not yet confirmed by the Education Ministry, it is believed that Zimeena Azealia Rasheed who topped the country with 18 grade ones and two grade twos, topped the Caribbean as well. Therefore the Minister was delighted that the work of her “hard working” teachers has paid off.Manickchand poses with the two standouts from Anna Regina Multilateral, Zimeena Rasheed (left) and Yogeeta PersaudWhat Manickchand wasn’t thrilled about was the fact that even though the overall academic results for CSEC have noticeably improved, performances in the two key subject areas—Mathematics and English—have left much to be desired, putting it mildly.Grades One to Three passes in Mathematics,Cheap Jerseys From China, English Language (A) and Clothing and Textiles were less than fifty percent (50%). Passes for English A were recorded at 45.69 percent marking an increase compared to last year’s 37.02 percent, while passes for Mathematics were recorded at 28.92 percent representing a decrease from last year’s 29.69 percent pass rate.Manickchand disclosed that in Mathematics, there was a slight decline in the Grades One to Three passes; from 30.35 percent in 2011 and 29.69 percent in 2012 to 28.92 percent in 2013.Performance in English B, the Minister said, improved from 59.72% in 2011 and 56.5 percent in 2012 to 61.06 percent in 2013 (Grades One to Three). Grades One to Three pass rate in English A improved from 37.02 percent in 2012 to 45.69 percent in 2013.Additional Mathematics which was written for the first time in 2012 and had a pass percentage of 58.33 percent improved to 80.83 percent in 2013.Minister Manickchand said that she has to sit with her team to strategize other tactics to go about tackling the problems in Mathematics especially. She said that for the amount of resources the Ministry is pumping into the subject area, the results are indeed disappointing.On the brighter side, excellent performances were recorded in Agriculture Science (DA & SA) and Integrated Science. And improvements were recorded in Biology and Chemistry compared to 2012.Kaieteur News has learnt that this year saw an increase in the number of candidates who wrote the CSEC; as well as the number of subject entries. Thirteen thousand, six hundred fifty-four (13,654) students (8649 were females and 5005 males) wrote the examination this year. Of that amount,cheap jerseys authentic, 8563 were public entries, while 5091 were private school candidates. Private candidates amounted to approximately 38 percent of the total entries.The analysis of the 2013 CSEC results revealed that the overall pass rate at the General and Technical proficiencies for Grade One to Three was 59.31 percent as opposed to 58.69 percent in 2012. The overall 2013 Grade One to Grade Four pass rate was 80.92 percent.These rates compared with last year, indicate an increase in the Grade One to Three and Grade One to Four passes.Candidates from Guyana wrote thirty-four (34) subjects at the examination.Of these subjects the results indicated excellent performances in fifteen (15) subjects where the Grade One to Three passes exceeded seventy five percent.The fifteen subjects are: Agriculture Science (DA), Agriculture Science (SA), Economics, Food & Nutrition, French, Information Technology, Integrated Science, Religious Education,Cheap Jerseys USA, Theatre Arts, Electronic Document Preparation and Management, Physical Education & Sport, Additional Mathematics, Building Technology (Const.), Building Technology (Woods) and Mechanical Engineering Technology.Satisfactory performances were recorded in sixteen subjects where the Grades One to Three passes exceeded fifty percent while Grades One to Four passes were in excess of seventy-five percent, these subjects were: Biology, Caribbean History, Chemistry, English B, Geography, Home Economics, Office Administration, Physics, Principles of Accounts, Principles of Business, Social Studies, Spanish, Technical Drawing, Visual Arts, Human and Social Biology, and Electr