Govt mulls scrapping NGSA

Apr 24, 2025 News

…says country on path to achieving universal secondary education

Kaieteur News- With Guyana expected to achieve universal secondary education by mid-next year, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, on Wednesday, said that education authorities are contemplating the possibility of scrapping the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) placement examinations.

Grade six students who recently wrote the National Grade Six Assessment on April 16 to 17, 2025. (Photo courtesy, Ministry of Education)

She made this disclosure during her address at the opening ceremony of this year’s National STEAM Fair, which is taking place at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. The minister said that education in Guyana is not and will not become static, noting that the ministry is going to evolve as far as necessary and as quickly as is necessary to make sure they are meeting the needs of the learners of today.

With new technology bringing about new ways of learning, the minister noted that the education system is ever evolving.

Speaking on various news things that the ministry is looking to do, the minister mentioned that with the building of new secondary schools across the country, which is bringing it closer to the goal of achieving universal secondary education, the question must be asked whether “…we still need a placement exam? Because that’s what NGSA is: a placement exam. Do we need a placement exam? Or can we transition to secondary schools?” “Because we now have enough in your community to do that,” she added.

In deciding to scrap the placement exams, Manickchand told the gathering that it would mean that every secondary school has to offer equally and equitably the same kind and quality of education. “So those are some of the new things we can look at, that doesn’t mean that we’re taking away from competition. If you want to gain one of a particular number of schools, we can set an exam for those who are competing for those schools. But those are new things we have to start looking at,” she explained.

As it is known, the National Grade Six Assessment is an examination written by pupils to determine their placement into secondary schools. This year, the two-day exams, which assessed four main subject areas, concluded last week with the results expected to be released on or before June 26. Further, speaking on new things the ministry could do, the minister noted it has to do with the availability of more subjects being offered to students at the lower secondary levels.

“Do we need to continue to offer CSEC subjects only in fifth form? Can children who want to do it earlier go ahead and do it early? And we’ve been seeing more of that. And even as we look at that, we are looking at making sure that within the next five years, every single child by grade four is literate and numerate,” she said. “So my friends, this is an ever evolving ministry, as officers, as teachers, as parents, as learners, as trainee teachers, you have to reorient yourself to get on the train of an education system that refuses to be static, that refuses to leave our children behind,” she disclosed. Noting that there are challenges facing the education system, Manickchand expressed that her government is committed that none of it will stop them from doing what the children of Guyana need today.

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contemplating, discontinue, Minister Priya Manickchand, National Grade Six Assessment, placement examination

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