Ministry battles ballooning junior class sizes

Staff Writer | Tuesday January 9, 2018 13:06

 

The policy is that class sizes should not exceed 40 students per class and in regards to pupils at primary level the ministry has made inroads in achieving the controlled numbers.

However, this is far from being achieved in junior schools where a lot of the classes having have over 50 students.  Trade unionists have in the past been battling with the issue of class sizes stating that the teacher-student ratio should at least be one to 25 students.

This is exacerbated by the migration of parents and their children from one area to another.

“The ministry is assessing the extent of the problem in specific schools so that they make interventions to alleviate the situation, which may include the use of available boarding spaces, or the increase in teaching space using prefabricated facilities,” Basic Education ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Simon Coles, said.