Senator Alex Brown says Antigua and Barbuda faces a serious challenge in mathematics education and is urging the government to move beyond spending levels and focus on targeted solutions to improve student performance.
Speaking during the 2026 Budget Debate in the Upper House, Brown said the country continues to lag behind regional averages in mathematics, despite education receiving a significant share of government funding.
“There’s obviously a problem with maths, and we need to find a solution,” Brown told senators. “I don’t have the antidote solution, but there has to be a focus.”
Brown said data from Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results over several years show Antigua and Barbuda performing below regional benchmarks. He noted that while the Caribbean average hovers around the 40 percent range, local results remain significantly lower.
“I said within the Caribbean we were in the 20s and the average was in the 40s,” he said, responding to a point of order during the debate.
While acknowledging that the Ministry of Education receives substantial budgetary allocations, Brown said funding alone is not enough if outcomes do not improve. He called for targeted interventions, including support for teachers and reforms aimed specifically at mathematics instruction.
“The ministry would have gotten a huge chunk of the budget,” Brown said. “So I’m saying that some effort should be made — whether it’s our teachers, maths teachers, whether they need training or whatever it is — but just have a focus.”
Brown stressed that mathematics and English remain critical subjects for students seeking higher education opportunities.
“Maths and English are the two subjects that are very much needed for university matriculation,” he said. “So we need to focus and make sure that where maths is concerned, we do much better.”
He said the issue should be addressed as a national priority, noting that education outcomes directly affect students’ future prospects and the country’s long-term development.
