NGSA starts tomorrow, CEO confident of improved performance

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DPI, GUYANA, Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson is confident of improvement in this year’s National Grade Six Assessment’s (NGSA) results.

With 14,551 students registered to sit the examination on March 28-29, Hutson assured that the Ministry of Education has been engaged in a multiplicity of programmes and activities “to ensure that the performance of our children is much better.”

“We have been working assiduously to improve performance. Last year we enjoyed the improvement in Mathematics and all the other subject areas showed marked improvement with exception of Social Studies which was consistent, but the other subject areas Science, Mathematics and (English) Language we saw improvement so we’re hoping to not only sustain the performance this year, but we are looking to excel.”

Hutson noted that there has been a marked improvement in the ministry’s use of technology, that will also play a part in the children’s performance.

“We have embarked on the use of technology in the Ministry of Education, and I can say without a doubt that we have seen a marked improvement in the use of technology, and we are a far way ahead compared to two or three years ago. We have been working with STEM Guyana, and they’ve built an app that we have been using, allowing our children to access educational material on their devices. The Ministry of Education itself would have procured a smart classroom at NCERD and we have been interacting with children from Region 1, 2, & 3, with the assistance of E-Governance.”

The CEO also mentioned one such tech-programme, the ‘Success Maker’, which allows students to do classwork on the computer. The programme only permits children to advance after they are successful at particular stages, therefore regulating and helping them to perform better.

The CEO offered encouragement to those students sitting the exams. “I really want to encourage our children to be focused… I believe that last minute preparation can take you a far way because you can actually see an access information that will help you well, take this time to do revision and get rest, wake early, get yourselves to the center and be well positioned to do well because you will do well.”

Last year, the ministry saw improvements being recorded in all the subject areas for 2017 as compared to 2016. The most improved subject was Mathematics, which recorded an increase of over 30 percent in the number of candidates gaining 50 percent and more. As such, the Ministry of Education has embarked on increased monitoring and evaluation of schools and teachers to ensure that the methodologies used for the teaching of Mathematics and other subjects are in conformity with the best practices set out by the ministry.

The results of the examinations are expected to be out at the end of June.

 

By: Stephon Gabriel