Pupils preparing to write the 2021 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) will be administered their first mock examinations next week, specifically on June 9 and 10.
Unlike previous years, pupils will have the option of sitting the exams from the comfort of their homes, at school or not doing it altogether.
Considering the flood situation in several regions, the Ministry of Education has also noted that affected pupils will have the option of writing the exams at a later date.
A second mock exam is also planned for July, ahead of the official examinations which is scheduled for August 4 and 5.
The ministry is also working on a solution that would allow pupils to take the paper one aspect of the mock examinations online, using a provided platform.
“The first mock examination will be treated as a practice examination for students and a diagnostic examination for teachers who have not seen their children for over a year. The Ministry of Education is hopeful that the second mock examination can be held in schools under strict examination guidelines to provide all pupils with the examination experience before sitting the NGSA in August in their respective schools,” the Education Ministry said.

According to the ministry: “The pupils have the option of writing the first mock examination in school under strict COVID-19 protocols or have the examination papers uplifted from their respective schools, completed at home and returned to the school to be marked by the teacher. Additionally, parents can decide that their child will not write this examination at all.”
Additionally, pupils will not be required to wear school uniforms during the mock exams, should they opt for the option of writing it in the classrooms. However, pupils will be required to be appropriately dressed with no witing printed on their clothing.
Parents, guardians and teachers of the NGSA pupils were brought up to scratch on these developments over the past few days during a number of virtual stakeholder meetings held with the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand. During respective meetings, the minister met with stakeholders from each of the 11 education districts.
“They were engaged in separate Zoom meetings and told of what the ministry has done and how their children will be assisted to write the NGSA on August 4 and 5, 2021, and the mock examinations to be held on June 9 and 10, and in July, 2021,” the ministry said.

The NGSA exam is considered a critical assessment for pupils, as it is used to determine their placement in a secondary school. Pupils are assessed in the core areas of Mathematics, English, Social Studies and Science. Like with the 2020 sitting, the pupils are currently affected by school closures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and have been learning virtually from home over the past few months. Due to the situation, over the past few months, the ministry has executed several initiatives to assist the Grade Six pupils and teachers as they prepare for this year’s examination. These initiatives include creating a consolidated curriculum, launching the NGSA Booster Programme and a Quiz Me Platform available on the ministry’s website.
The Education Ministry has also distributed study packages containing notes, textbooks and workbooks to each pupil in the public school system, to help each child prepare.
All the materials contained in the package are also available on the ministry’s website at: www.education.gov.gy. The ministry has also collaborated with Digicel and GTT to have its website zero-rated, so that there is no charge to persons data when accessing resources. According to the ministry, over the coming days, each pupil will receive a care package containing face masks, vitamin support, hand sanitisers and stationery items to be used when writing the two-day examination. Teachers are also expected receive care packages as well, which will contain face masks, face shield, vitamin support and hand sanitiser.