Chief Education Officer (CEO) Ingrid Trotman yesterday said that students who don’t want to sit the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) exams over the two-day course in July will not be forced to write the exam.
With over 14,000 students set to write the four exams on July 1 and July 2, and many parents still concerned about safety measures amidst the coronavirus outbreak, Trotman said that if parents decide they do not want their children sit the exam at this time, the ministry will not force those parents to do so.
While Guyana has seen no new COVID-19 cases for five consecutive days, the opening of schools could have the same effect as seen in countries like South Korea, France, Israel and Japan where cases have spiked after the relaxation of COVID-19 measures. As a result, the dates announced for the NGSA and the reopening of schools for students sitting this exam have been met with uncertainty by parents. Until yesterday, parents were unsure of what options they had, aside from sending their children to write the exam while putting their trust in the guidelines ordered by the ministry for the children’s safety.
During a ministry webinar where many concerns for the students preparing to sit exams next month were discussed, the CEO explained, “If the parents opt not to have their children or child write this examination, there is nothing we can do to force them. However, in not doing so, they will be placed in the school closest to them. If they are not satisfied or if they have issues with the school that they are placed in, there is what we call the placement examination, and that is done during the July month and so they will be placed at the secondary school closest to them… and if they satisfy the criteria, they can ask to write the placement exam the next year July and I think they have to get over 70% in order to be placed at a school of a higher level.”
Trotman also pointed out that those students not sitting the exams will initially not be placed at any of the Grade A schools.
