EDUCATION Minister Esther Le Gendre said yesterday her ministry is not ’averse to assisting in any way we could’, the denominational schools in the payment of electricity bills. She said the bills had increased partly because of computerisation and partly because of the rate increase.

’We do appreciate that they have had increases in their expenditure,’ she said, adding that the ministry asked for information on what was the situation with each of the denominational schools and what was the level of billing.

On the non-payment of the grants to the private special schools, Le Gendre said she was not aware of that, but would look into it.

Speaking at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s, she said 93 per cent of the 8,435 students who sat CAPE in Trinidad and Tobago had obtained ’acceptable grades’ in CXC, between ’grades one to five’. She said the Caribbean average for grades one to five was 89 per cent, a full four points behind this country. She said 55 per cent males and 63.3 per cent females achieved grades one to three.

She said students excelled in the areas of Environmental Science, Applied Mathematics, French, Biology, Art and Design, while the worse performances were in the areas of Information Technology, Law and Electronic Technology.

In the CXC, Trinidad and Tobago continued the upward trend from 59. 7 per cent achieving Grades I to III in 2007, 60.3 per cent in 2008 and 64.25 in 2009. She said this year there were 30,710 candidates, which included private candidates. She said there was an increase in subject entities from 116,481 in 2008 to 136,013 in 2009. She said there was also an increase in the non-traditional subjects, such as Theatre Arts, Physical Education and Sport, Electronic Document Preparation and Management and Office Management.

She said it was clear from the examination results that a number of the ministry’s initiative were beginning to bear fruit. Le Gendre said the drop out rate was 986 students, which was less than five per cent.