A pupil of a Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) school, CV Nunes Primary, has gained the top place at the 2008 National Grade Six Assessment with a score of 558 marks. A second pupil of the same school is among the top ten and there are five other CV Nunes pupils on the list of over 100 children gaining optimum marks at the examination.
Yogeeta Persaud of CV Nunes has topped the country, while in second place with 556 marks is Sayyid Rajab of Isa Islamic School. In third place is Arianna Seeraj of St Margaret’s Primary with 553 marks and in fourth place is Shahrazaed Khan of Isa Islamic School with 552.
The fifth place, with 551 is shared by Ridwaan Safi of St Margaret’s Primary, Zimeena Rasheed of CV Nunes, Crystal Ramdayal of West Ruimveldt Primary and Jonelle Europe of ABC Academy.
In the ninth position is Kavita Sawh of Dharmic Rama Krishna with a score of 549. Four candidates in the tenth place follow her: Shaphan Hestick and Cecil Cox of New Guyana School, Sharmila Ramlall of Leonora Primary and Eunice Hammond of St Margaret’s Primary. They all scored 548 marks.
Other high achievers are Keval Getram of Winfer Gardens Primary and Arianne Chand of Marian Academy with 547 in fourteenth place. Akash Jairam of St Margaret’s Primary is in sixteenth place with 546; Rafena Mustapha of Leonora Primary and Nabeeha Ali of Isa Islamic share the seventeenth spot with 545; while Sasha Woodroofe of School of the Nations, Sajeedah Khan and Bobby Samuels of Winfer Gardens share the nineteenth spot with 544.
Meanwhile, St Margaret’s recorded the most candidates, 20, in the top one per cent, followed by Leonora Primary with 12.
According to Minister of Education Shaik Baksh who released the results at a press conference at the Ministry of Education Boardroom yesterday, 17,000 candidates entered the National Grade Six Assessment on March 26 and 27, 2008.
Pupils in the top one per cent, he said, came from schools in Region Two; Region Three (West Deme-rara/Essequibo Islands); Region Four (Demerara/ Mahaica); Georgetown; Region Five (Mahaica/West Berbice); Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) and Region Ten.
Baksh noted the need to uplift standards in schools in the hinterland areas — Region One (Barima/Waini), Region Seven (Cuyuni/ Mazaruni), Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) and Region Nine (Upper Essequibo/ Upper Takutu) — to bring them to the level of those in the other regions. He said that putting more qualified teachers into those areas are among the ministry’s plans.
Candidates from eight schools in Region Two were among the top one per cent. Seventy-five candidates from the top 108 were from 20 schools in Georgetown.
In terms of the performance of private schools, Baksh noted that 29 candidates were in the top one per cent this year compared to 38 in 2007 and 35 in 2006.
While the top one per cent are eligible for entry to Queen’s College, 147 students outside Georgetown are eligible for entry to the residential President’s College.
Region Two primary schools whose pupils are eligible for places at President’s College are CV Nunes, Suddie, Fisher, Queenstown, Taymouth Manor, Hampton Court, Sparta, Jacklow, Good Hope, Kabakaburi and Al Madinah Islamic School.
In Region Three the pupils earning marks to enter PC are from Kawall, Vreed-en-Hoop, Windsor Forest, Leonora, Meten-Meer-Zorg, Philadel-phia, Greenwich Park, Cornelia Ida, Uitvlugt, Wales and Saraswat primary schools.
In Region Four PC entrants will come from Helena, Clonbrook, Golden Grove, Enmore Hope, Enterprise, Strathspey, Annandale, Lusig-nan, Mon Repos, La Bonne Intention, Chateau Margot, Montrose, Vryheid’s Lust, Virginia, Ann’s Grove, Cane Grove, Peter’s Hall, Covent Garden, Supply, Craig, Grove, Eccles and Providence primary schools.
Those eligible from Region Five are from Mahaicony, Lachmansingh, Zeeland, Bath and Number 29 primary schools.
In Region Six, pupils from Corriverton, Number 48, Auchlyne, Friends, Ganga-ram, Albion, Cumberland, Rose Hall Estate, Sheet Anchor, Skeldon, Crabwood Creek and St Therese primary schools are eligible.
In Region Ten, primary school pupils from One Mile, Regma and Watooka Day are eligible.