Gov't mulls offering better salaries to maths and science teachers to keep them

The Jamaican government is considering providing better salaries to trained science and mathematics teachers than their other colleagues in a bid to keep them in the classrooms.

Jamaica has been losing some of its best teachers in these two subject areas who go overseas for better working opportunities.

The Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, admits that the idea to pay science and maths teachers better than their other colleagues will be controversial. 

However, he says the time has come to question whether it makes sense to pay all teachers at the same rate. 

He says discussions have started with the Jamaica Teachers' Association. 

In the 2015 sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate, Jamaica recorded declines in additional mathematics, integrated science, biology, chemistry, physics and human and social biology teachers.