Education Minister, Priya Manickchand has expressed grave concern over ‘unaccounted’ students who were expected to sit the first mock National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) today. Manickchand said that a ‘rigorous’ campaign will be rolled out shortly to locate these students while stressing that the Ministry will not sit by and watch students become dropouts.
NGSA students were given two options to write the exams. Yesterday, the Ministry reported that 90% of the students opted to sit the exam at schools, with the remainder writing from home.
Manickchand said that these ‘unaccounted’ students took neither option. She noted that teachers are also unaware of their location or reasons for not participating.
The minister, in previous engagements with the press, had stressed the importance of children remaining in school and not being lost to the workforce, as hardships brought on by the pandemic continue to pummel the citizenry.
Preliminary numbers by the Assistant Chief Education Officer (ACEO), Saddam Hussain show a 77% participation in the exam today. He noted that numbers are still coming in, and the participation rate is likely to increase ‘significantly’ as the day progresses. Hussain told the media that some students, who are living in flood-affected areas, are expected to sit the exam next week or at a later date.
Guyana Standard understands that over 12,000 students were expected to sit these mock exams, which is a precursor to the NGSA slated for later.
