IN a significant step towards ensuring the smooth progress of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) marking process, Dr. Nicole Manning from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) visited the office of Guyana’s Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, as revealed in a recent Facebook post.

Also present at the meeting were Guyana’s Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain and Superintendent of Exams Sauda Kadir.
Dr. Manning and a team are presently in Guyana to assess and mark the Paper Two section of the NGSA 2024 examination papers. The multiple-choice answer sheets are undergoing evaluation and marking in Barbados, the post said.

This year’s NGSA saw approximately 15,300 Grade Sis pupils from across Guyana participating in the exam which is a crucial determinant of their secondary school placements.
The CXC team will remain in Guyana for several months until the entire marking process, including the review process is completed.

Minister Manickchand, in a video uploaded to the ministry’s Facebook page last Saturday, lauded the examination as a “massive success,” attributing the smooth conduct of the process to the collaborative efforts of parents, teachers, pupils, and CXC personnel. She highlighted the remarkable attendance rate, with a reported 95 per cent pupil turnout, despite the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking on the ministry’s efforts to manage the education sector amid the pandemic, Minister Manickchand expressed satisfaction with the progress made in retaining students within the system. Notably, she praised the ministry’s specialised feeding programme, which provided over 49,500 meals to children across Guyana, underscoring its role in supporting students’ holistic development.

As the NGSA marking process unfolds under the oversight of CXC officials, Minister Manickchand reiterated her commitment to ensuring the integrity and efficiency of Guyana’s education system, emphasising the importance of collaborative efforts in nurturing the academic growth and well-being of the nation’s youth.