– finds 46% pass rate ‘disappointing’

REGIONAL Chairman David Armogan has expressed disappointment with the 46 per cent passes Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) chalked up this year at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA.

“Our percentage has been pretty disappointing; we have only been able to achieve 46%. It means we have to do a lot of work in the primary schools, so our children can achieve a higher grade in the future,” he told Berbice reporters during a press briefing at the Regional Complex at Vryman’s Erven, in New Amsterdam, on Tuesday afternoon.

He noted that of the 1775 pupils that were entered by the region’s 55 primary schools to write the exam this year, only 809 were able to score more than 400 marks.

“What we know is that more would be going on to the high school, but they will not be able to perform in the First Form of the secondary school, because many have difficulties in reading and writing. If they can’t read and write properly, how then can they enter into the high school,” he said, adding:
“We need to look at these low-performing schools. It’s more than half we have to focus on, and we need to bring them to the required standard expected at the secondary level. It must also be noted that the teachers at the secondary school have also been complaining about the level of pupils’ knowledge, which is not desirable for Form One. That’s why we have had to introduce the six-year programme in some of the schools”.

He went on to explain how the six-year programme works, “The first year exposes the children to General Reasoning, Writing and Basic Mathematics. Once they pass the first year, then, officially, they will commence their secondary level. So, what should have been done in the primary school, has to be done in the first year of the six-year programme in the secondary school. That’s unacceptable; it should not happen in this region! The Education Officer and staffers will have to definitely work within the primary level to ensure that the pupils are better prepared.”

And while this year’s results have shown a slight improvement on last year’s, Mr. Armogan did not seem the least bit impressed, and even downplayed the suggestion that the children’s underperformance might have had to do with the effect the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has had on them emotionally and otherwise.

“The pupils should have written the examinations in April; they were tutored prior to the pandemic, which was in March. I don’t think it had a major impact on the results,” he reasoned.

He also dismissed the notion that the poor performance might have also had to do with the fact that a number of teachers in the education system are either unqualified or untrained, or both. “That cannot be reflective of the performance,” he promptly shot back, adding: “We have to look to see what are the underlying factors for such a low-level performance; this has to be improved.”
After giving the matter some thought, Armogan conceded that while some schools, such as Plegt-Anker and Schepmoed Primary, may have a high percentage of passes, as reflected in the 100% passes they got, in actual fact, it was just one and two pupils respectively who would have written from those schools.

However, All Saints Primary continues to preform well, as they have recorded a 75% pass rate this year, having entered 93 pupils for the examinations.
And whereas St. Therese’s Primary was once regarded as one of the region’s top performers, its reputation now seems to be on the decline, with an overall pass rate of 63% of 113 pupils who sat the exam.

Among the Region’s top 15 primary schools to have secured 50% and above passes this year are: Gangaram; Berbice Islamic; Orealla; Cumberland; Cropper; Sheet Anchor; Edinburgh; Rose Hall Estate; Alness; Port Mourant; and Number 36.
There are listed primary schools which recorded no passes at all, while there are others that recorded 6% and 14% passes on the lower end of the list.