Education Minister preparing to meet NGSA top one per cent

Jun 14, 2015 News

– has plans to “rapidly” improve output of low performers
A total of 15,225 pupils participated in the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) this year. It is therefore

Minister of Education, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine

understandable that despite their competitive spirits all of them could not have placed in the top one per cent. However, those making up the upper stratum of the top one per cent performers are usually the beneficiaries of a great deal but well deserved attention.
But according to Minister of Education, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, he has plans to shortly meet with all those who made it into the top one per cent. He made a point of highlighting that while many of the top performers are from privately operated schools, some of them had benefited from a foundation in the public school system.
Adding to this theory was, Chief Education Officer (CEO), Olato Sam, who revealed that private schools are known to use the Ministry’s teaching curriculum and some have even asked to access other resources used by the public system. In addition, he said that they also use the teachers trained by the public system. “There are some other dynamics there that certainly speak to different outcomes that you might see…clearly private schools are able to do a number of things that we in the public schools are not able to do,” Sam observed.
Speaking of the top performers Minister Roopnaraine, in disclosing plans to meet with them said, “we are going to meet them in the very near future because I have had it said by some of my friends who have been engaged in education for a long time that it’s great that we honour our top performers but frankly we want to honour all of our students…”
As it relates to the students not in the top performing category, the Minister said that the aim is to “bring them as rapidly as possible into the top 100 per cent.”
But according to Sam, while the performance of those in the top one per cent is laudable, pupils’ performances are not measured based merely on their representation in that category (top one per cent). He pointed out that there are other factors that are taken into consideration. “There are other indicators that we look at in relation to their general performances,” asserted the CEO who however admitted that it does speak to their ability to produce at a certain level.
Pupils who participated in the NGSA participate in a total of four subject areas with the highest possible standardised scores obtainable being 138 in Mathematics; 132 in English; 132 in Social Studies and 133 in Science. The highest possible total score obtainable was 535 marks.
Attaining 530 marks was 11-year-old Solomon Cherai of the privately operated Success Elementary primary school. The second position was claimed by the same school in the person of 11-year-old Shania Eastman with 529 marks.
The third position, with a score of 526 marks, was shared by Celine Farinha of Peter’s Hall Primary, Shreya Persaud and Isabella Hussain, the latter two being pupils of the Academy of Excellence of in Region Three.
And Minister Roopnaraine related that already he has his own views on how the classroom experience can be enriched. He however noted that “I have to engage my friends in the Guyana Teachers Union to ensure that we are on the same page in relation to what teachers are expected to do.”
He nevertheless assured that the Education Ministry is poised to build on the gains that have been made in the past. “Over the next two years we are going to ensure that the Ministry of Education sets the standard in Guyana.”
In fact it is the fervent hope of Dr Roopnaraine that “other Ministries must look at the Ministry of Education and come and ask us what you are really doing? How did you manage to do what you are doing? That’s what we want,” said the optimistic Education Minister.
According to him, currently he is doing a full assessment of the system and there are going to be some changes. “What works we will continue to do, what needs fixing we will fix, what has not worked at all we will abandon,” said the Minister. He has asserted though that things will not be changed for “changing sake” but rather “what can be anticipated is the continuity of best practices.”