Grade Six pupils across Guyana are expected to write the second set of National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) mock examinations tomorrow and Thursday.
According to Education Minister Priya Manickchand, the examination will be administered on July 7th and July 8th, and students can choose to take the exam in school or write it at home. “If they write it at home, each subject will be written one day later than the original date. This is to maintain integrity of the exam for the majority of students,” Manickchand said.
However, this is not an option for the substantive NGSA. This sitting will be the second set of examinations which the Ministry of Education is conducting to analyze students’ preparedness for the NGSA in August, Manickchand had previously said.
Over 10,000 students around the country participated in the first exams, which were conducted in June, according to data provided by Assistant Chief Education Officer Mohammed Hussain. Students had been reported to have sat the mock exams at either their school or their home. Hussain explained that information was steadily reaching the Ministry and that the figures would likely continue to rise. Of that number, some 2,493 students were absent, with 420 students being unable to sit the exam due to flooding, according to Hussain’s analysis.
The examination, which took a hybrid format, saw 9,820 students writing them in schools and 359 students sitting them from home. These exams are notably the first time in 13 months that primary-aged pupils will be attending school, with the exception of the NGSA candidates from last year. The examinations are being conducted under strict COVID-19 guidelines. Pupils, teachers and staff of each school will be sanitized and have their temperatures checked before entering the compound or classroom. During the day other sanitization exercises will take place to ensure a safe environment.
As part of the ministry’s efforts to assist parents and students to sit these examinations, each student will receive a care package containing masks, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, a ruler, hand sanitizer and vitamin support, the statement said. Teachers and support staff will also receive hand sanitizer, face masks, face shields and vitamin support.
Earlier in the year, the Ministry said it also distributed to Grade Six pupils a study package containing notes, worksheets, past papers and several textbooks. Additionally, the Ministry has initiated several online platforms to aid students with learning, such as the NGSA Booster programme, the Quiz Me platform and Whiz Kids.
