Georgetown : Although some students were evidently nervous, most insisted that they were confident and ready to take on the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) which commenced at primary schools across the country today.
Even before 08:00 hours, Grade Six students, some accompanied by their parents, older siblings, other relatives or guardians, could be seen flocking the compounds of primary schools. They all appeared anxious to get the process started.
As the 9 o’clock hour approached, at some schools motivational speeches and prayers were understandably the order of the day. In fact some students were given an added bonus when Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, along with a team of officials including Superintendent of Examinations, Ms Sauda Kadir, and Assistant Chief Education Officer (Primary), Marcel Hudson, graced their schools with their presence simply to wish them good luck and offer short pep-talks. Among the schools the Minister and her team visited were the Winfer Garden and Stellar Maris Primaries, both in Georgetown.
The Minister’s visit to the latter mentioned school brought with it all too familiar nostalgic feelings to her. A product of the school herself, the Minister reflected on the year she was in the very same position; preparing to sit common entrance, which has since been renamed the National Grade Six Assessment. “Stella Maris is my old school that is one of the reasons I stopped here. In fact I was reminiscing on how my mother marched me in from the road head to take my exams…”
At the Winfer Garden Primary, the Minister arrived just in time to witness head teacher, Ms Jennifer Cumberbatch, encourage her students to do their best even as she ended with a prayer aimed at channelling guidance and understanding.
Having visited the city schools, the Minister in brief remarks expressed satisfaction with the NGSA preparation assuring that “we are ready; we are ready in every nook and cranny,” even as she alluded to Guyana’s attainment of universal primary education. According to the Minister all over Guyana children have access to primary education and are therefore able to readily participate in the NGSA. “If we had to test our skills about being able to deliver across Guyana it is through this exam (NGSA) that we would do it because this is the stage (primary level) that is accessible all across Guyana.”
However, the Minister noted that the Ministry of Education is now faced with a challenge to ensure that the same number of students that participate in the 2012 NGSA will also be undertaking the Caribbean Secondary Certificate Education (CSEC) examination in the next five years. As a result, the Minister revealed that the education sector is working “feverishly” to realise universal secondary education, an achievement which is expected to become a reality under the President Donald Ramotar regime.
Glitch Resolved
Some 18,000 candidates registered to participate in this year’s NGSA and according to the Superintendent of Examinations, all logistical and administrative preparations were all in place to allow for smooth operation over the two-day assessment. However, she noted that the system has been subjected to a few glitches which have all been resolved. She explained that for security purposes the examination papers are usually stored at police stations and officers are tasked with opening the boxes on the morning of the examination. It was revealed that at one school the Station Sergeant was late to perform the prescribed duty which had caused some concerns. According to Kadir, “it has been resolved and it is nothing for us to be alarmed about. All arrangements are in place and we are ready to deal with any and all difficulties should they arise…anything that comes up we are prepared to address.”
Kadir revealed too that the Ministry is in constant contact with the respective officials in the Regional Education Departments and “they are prepared and geared…so all is well for today and tomorrow.”
According to the ACEO (Primary), the NGSA is a very important examination which has seen him personally reaching out to all of the Regional Education Officers, as the examination is not merely a Georgetown-centred activity. He noted that even before today’s start of the examination he had instructed the various school districts to ensure that primary students were able to undertake revisionary work as according to him “this is important to help their performance. We have been urging our children not to be over-confident but to be calm and ensure that they are focused so that they can produce.” He emphasised too that the aim of the NGSA is to ensure that each child at the primary level is able to access a secondary education so that they could go on to write CSEC and do well.
Invigilators Prepared
Desiree McLeod one of the senior invigilators at Stella Maris ahead of the start of the NGSA today expressed hope that students will be of their best behaviours throughout the examining process. “We have already been advised how they should sit and once they follow the instructions that is the main thing….They are children and we are prepared for them…I’ve been doing this for a long time.”
Her experience over the years has taught her that some students are likely to be inclined to visit the washrooms, throw down their pencils and engage in a few other distracting activities. Some students, according to McLeod have been known to vomit during examinations as well. However, the presence of invigilators, according to her is to ensure that students are closely monitored. “We try to deal with them as best as possible and in cases where they are very nervous we just try our best to calm them down because they are still babies to us.”
Each assessment, she revealed, is slated for one and a half hours with sessions being conducting in the mornings and in the afternoons. Today students were required to undertake assessments in the subject areas of English Language and Science while tomorrow they will be tasked with undertaking Mathematics and Social Studies.
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