Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC), Dr. Wayne Wesley says the region must place greater focus on English and Mathematics.

His statement follows the council’s report that Mathematics and English A saw a drop in students’ performance in this year’s sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams.

The examinations were administered in may and June.

Speaking at the ceremony for the official release of the results, Dr. Wesley said both subjects are fundamental to academic and professional development. 

According to Dr.Wesley, statistics also show that the number of students who achieved 5 or more subjects, including English and Mathematics declined. 

He said this means that there are fewer students who are able to matriculate to university and that more persons will be underemployed.