Education Minister says no plans afoot to end NGSA exam

Priya Manickchand

Education Minister Priya Manickchand on Wednesday said that reports about plans to eliminate the Grade Six placement exams are inaccurate, instead, she says, the Ministry is looking for ways to equalise the resources at secondary schools across Guyana.

While declaring the top performers for the 2020 CAPE and CSEC assessments, Manickchand addressed a question about the elimination of placement exams and the response to the idea by many parents and students. Manickchand said that she was shocked by the response of persons but she went on to explain that her words were misinterpreted. “The response to probably two sentences surprised me and caused me great worry.” She elaborated, “I didn’t say we were doing away with NGSA. I said at the launch of the NGSA booster programme, I said we hope to get to a place where it doesn’t matter which secondary school you get, you are going to be able to do well and perform well.”