The Education Ministry is consulting Grade Six teachers and parents across the country on the way forward for this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA). The exams play a vital role in determining what secondary school a child attends.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand stated that 2021 should possess a higher degree of certainty as the country continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Going forward, the Minister said that she hopes the lessons learnt in 2020 are used in 2021 for the delivery of education.
The Minister further thanked those teachers that have stepped up during this time to ensure their students continue to be engaged despite being at home since March 2020.
Other exams to be addressed include the Grades Two, Four, Six and Nine examinations. However, at this point the NGSA is being dealt with first. As it relates to NGSA, whatever decision is made will be guided by the trajectory of the COVID-19 virus and the advice given by the Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer, Dr. Marcel Hutson stated during remarks that the Ministry recognizes the importance of primary education and has done many things to reach children so that they remain engaged as much as possible. He explained that timetabled content for all grades is being aired on the Guyana Learning Channel while the Broadcasts to Schools and the Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) programs continue to be aired on radio.
During Thursday’s meeting, several teachers shared their views on the matter and made meaningful recommendations on how the Ministry should address the matter.
Some of the options discussed included having students write the full examination on content right up to Grade Six or the full examination but on content up to Grade Five. The meeting also examined the option of not having children write papers one and two or have them write both papers but with reduced questions. It was also recommended that students can complete projects as a means of assessment.
