Government to initiate single-sex education

BASSETERRE (CMC):

The St Kitts and Nevis government says it will introduce single-sex education for students at three of the Federation's primary schools from September.

Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas, speaking on his weekly radio programme 'Ask the Prime Minister' yesterday, said that he was concerned over what he termed a gender imbalance at the University of the West Indies (UWI), which has been traced to the primary schools.

"The number of females at this important institution now outnumbers the males by a ratio of more than two to one. This imbalance, clearly, is not one that magically emerges when our young people arrive at UWI.

"It is a trend that has been developing throughout the region over time. It is a trend that can be seen right there in the Federation. And it is a trend, the signs of which are emerging early," Dr Douglas told listeners.

He said that in an attempt to better understand this phenomenon, the Ministry of Education has been carefully analysing the statistical data on male, and students from the earliest grades onward, and a particular pattern has emerged.

"What we have found is that up until grade three, the academic performance of boys and girls is indistinguishable, one from the other. At grade three, however, a clearly discernable divergence develops. The performance of the girls remains strong, while the performance of the boys begins to lag."

Dr Douglas said that this divergence remains in grade four and apparent in grades five and six.