THOUSANDS of students, some eager, some nervous, congregated early at schools across the country yesterday to sit the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA). About 17,000 students wrote English and Integrated Science yesterday. The Government Information Agency visited a few schools, including Stella Maris and North Georgetown Primary and interacted with the students.
Most of them said the exams were easy, while others said they had some challenges, especially with science. Several said they were looking forward to Mathematics and Social Studies today.
Eleven-year old Shamal Khan of Stella Maris Primary said, “The exams were very easy, I am hoping to get a place at Queen’s College and I hope to be an engineer someday.” His peer, Akisha Fraser had a different view. For her, “The exams were a bit nerve- wracking, but I got through, I am hoping to get into Bishops’ High school where I can major in law so that I can help people in certain circumstances.”
The students extended gratitude to their parents, teachers and God for their guidance and support.
Over the last five years, education in Guyana has been undergoing continuous reform, part of which resulted in the Secondary Schools’ Entrance Education (SSEE) or common entrance exam no longer being used to award places in secondary schools. Instead, primary level students now take the Grades Two, Four and Six assessments to gain placement.
Guyana has been ranked one of the highest developing countries in the education Index of the United Nations Human Development report. Equitable access to free education from nursery through secondary is a major reason for Guyana’s estimated literacy rate of 96 percent, one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere.