NGSA slate writing for August 4th and 5th
– over 14,000 students were expected to sit an examination
Students who sat the exam last year following COVID-19 protocols
Kaieteur News – During a press conference at the National Center for the Development of Educational Resources (NCERD) yesterday, Education Minister Priya Manickchand announced that the National Sixth Grade Assessment (NGSA) will be written on the 4th a August 5th this year.
In November last year, the Ministry of Education had announced the postponement of the examination, which is usually written in March / April. The examination was postponed due to the physical closure of schools due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility that some students might not be ready.
Notably, the NGSA, unlike the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) and Advanced Caribbean Proficiency Examination (CAPE), is administered by Guyana so the Ministry of Education had the power to suspend the NGSA or decide whether to students were going to write it at all.
Further, during the press conference, it was revealed that about 14,300 students across all ten administrative districts of Guyana will write the exam. A mock exam will also be administered before the NGSA to ensure students are ready for the August sitting. The NGSA methodology and content will also remain intact according to Manickchand, who noted that a 20-week curriculum has been taken from the regular 40-week curriculum normally practiced.
Manickchand also revealed that students have the option of opting out of the exam, however, which will mean the Ministry will have to use its placement policy. He said this will be done using the regional average and the child will then be placed in a secondary school selected by the Ministry of Education saying, “We cannot award marks to a child who is not sitting the examination.”
In addition, private educational institutions that want their students to write the exam will receive one educational package from the Ministry and will need to repeat the pack and distribute it to their students.
The decision to administer the NGSA came after lengthy consultations with parents, teachers and students.