Education Minister Shaik Baksh has called on all candidates sitting the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) today to stay focused and put their best effort forward to achieve the school of their dream.
Addressing members of the media yesterday at his 21 Brickdam Office on the preparation of the examinations, Baksh extended best wishes to the candidates and urged them to pay close attention to the dates and time they will be tested.
He announced that all arrangements for the conduct and administration of the examination are in place for the 18,000 pupils from the 485 schools throughout Guyana who are expected to write the NGSA which begins today and ends tomorrow.
Today English Language Papers 1&11 will be written in the morning session followed by  Science Papers 1&11 in the afternoon.
On Thursday, Mathematics Papers 1&11 will be taken in the morning while Social Studies Papers 1&11 will be offered in the afternoon.
After the conduct of the examinations, all scripts will be returned to the Examination Division and processing will commence within one week. The results are expected to be available to students by June month end.
The Ministry of Education, as part of its preparation for the examination, distributed timetables for all the candidates in February. Supervisors and invigilators were also appointed to oversee the process at all of the 328 centres where the examinations will be written.
Training sessions were also held to familiarise these persons with the correct procedures for the administration of the examinations.
The Ministry of Education has introduced several interventions to improve students’ performance at the primary level. In 2008 and 2009, teachers at every grade at the primary level provided one extra hour per week to work with children who have difficulties meeting the required literacy standards.
Some 9000 children participated in this after school activity and there has been significant improvement in their performance.
Grade Six pupils whose performance in the term two tests was less than 50 per cent also participated in a six week literacy programme at their school after the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).
Some schools organised literacy training for their students during the August vacation.
This programme, which continued in 2010, aims to provide basic training to students especially in the area of remedial reading, and the pre and post-test results for each of the years have shown a considerable growth in their literacy levels.