FOLLOWING months of anxiety and anticipation, Guyana is officially the country that has topped the Caribbean at the 2020 sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exam and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, confirmed on Wednesday.
The minister provided this information at the announcement of the results which was held at the National Centre of Educational Resources Development (NCERD).
According to the minister, the announcement came directly from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the primary body responsible for examinations among CARICOM countries.
Bhedesh Persaud, the Queen’s College student who topped the region at the CSEC level, managed to get 22 Grade Ones and two Grade Two passes, while his colleague, Zane Ramotar, also of Queens’s College, secured the top place for CAPE in the region, with 14 Grade Ones and one Grade Two.
Guyana has also received two of the five awards given by CXC at the CAPE level, and four of the five given for CSEC.

Zane Ramotar copped the awards for Best Student: Overall Performance and Best Performer in Natural Sciences at the CAPE level; Bhedesh Persaud earned the awards for Best Overall Student and Best Science Student at CSEC; Anthony A. Sookram of the New Amsterdam Secondary School copped the Best Student in the Technical and Vocational Area award for CSEC, and Niron Seokenandan was named the Best CSEC Business Student for the region.
The Education Minister congratulated the students warmly, noting that while they wrote their examinations at a particularly distressing time, they still managed to perform well.
“This says to me two things, that you have a good foundation, you have good support, and that you have a very promising future. And today, I’m telling you that we will work very hard in the government, and in the Ministry of Education to make sure that you don’t, for want of financial resources or guidance—that you will not pursue your dreams or passions. We will make ways available, and give you opportunities so that you can pursue all your dreams and all your passions,” she expressed.
Meanwhile, CAPE top performer, Zane Ramotar, at the event, urged current students, both young and old, to find a self-studying method that works for them, in order to work towards achieving good results.

“You can’t really replicate one particular topic… You have to sit down and figure out what you’re good at, what you’re bad at… some people require flashcards, and some require highlighters. You’ve got to figure out what works for you, build on it, and develop it,” the young man said.
After seven months of waiting, Ramotar and Persaud were, on April 23, 2021, confirmed as Guyana’s top students at CAPE and CSEC, respectively.
Coming a close second behind Persaud at CSEC, with 19 Grade Ones and two Grade Twos, was Anna Regina Secondary School’s Duvina Seurattan, followed by schoolmate, Swasti Saytoo, who secured 18 Grade Ones and three Grade Twos.
In fourth place with 18 Grade Ones, and one Grade Two, was Geveshwar Rajkishore, one of five students from Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) which is located at Cornelia Ida, on the West Coast Demerara.

Also from SVN are the Chaitram twins, Shivnarine and Shivshankar, who both attained 17 Grade Ones and two Grade Twos to share the sixth spot. Their schoolmate, Atishta Seenarine, with 17 Grade Ones and one Grade Two came in at number eight. Chaitra Singh followed with 16 Grade Ones, and three Grade Twos at ninth.
The fifth spot was copped by Reyan Khemraj of the JC Chandisingh Secondary in Port Mourant, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), with 17 Grade Ones and three Grade Twos. Tabitha Alves from Abram’s Zuil Secondary School followed with 16 Grade Ones and four Grade Twos.
Coming in second behind QC’s Ramotar at CAPE was St Rose’s High Naomi Cambridge, who secured 12 Grade Ones and two Grade Twos. Christian Pile, also of QC, took the third position with 11 Grade Ones and one Grade Two.