The Guyana Learning Channel on Friday officially its new ‘Whiz Kids’ game show, which is currently aimed at helping Grade Six students prepare for their upcoming national assessment.
According to the Ministry of Education, the game show features Grade Six students from various primary schools competing against each other by answering questions on the four subject areas on which they will be assessed for the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) in August: Mathematics, English Language, Science and Social Studies.
During a brief ceremony held at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), at Kingston, the Head of Distance Learning Anieshaw Mohamed explained that the competition was birthed after Education Minister Priya Manickchand had her own rapid-fire question and answer time with her niece. She said that she had been observing them without them knowing and she became enamored with the idea of having a rapid question show and the ‘Whiz Kids’ game show was developed.
The first episode of the show has been broadcast and can be viewed on the Guyana Learning Channel’s YouTube channel. Whiz Kids will be aired on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 pm on the Guyana Learning Channel, its Facebook page and is available on the GLC’s YouTube channel.
The first aired episode was a hit with its audience, Mohamed said. She also mentioned that the Guyana Learning Channel has plans to launch ‘Mathletes’ and a Spelling Bee programmes soon to engage more students.
Mohamed said that the participants will receive prizes and the first to third place winners will receive either tickets to visit the Kaieteur Falls, a tour of the Forts and a dinner at the Marriott Hotel. Thus far there are two finalists and the grand finale will be broadcast on July 28, 2021.
Manickchand has shared that she is very pleased with the show. She said that her ministry has introduced new programmes, including the NGSA Booster Programme, the Quiz Me platform, the printing of worksheets and the creation and distribution of study packages to aid the students who are preparing to sit the NGSA. She noted that these initiatives were necessary because of the interruption to learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The minister encouraged the pupils to use these initiatives and to overcome the challenges being faced at this time. She also called on teachers to get on board and allow themselves to be assessed, evaluated and assisted to do better. They must also assess the students’ performance, she said, and help them if need be. Additionally, she highlighted that parents play a significant role in their child’s education. She said that they need to take note of their children’s performance during the recent mock exam for NGSA students and help them to better prepare for the second exam which will be done in a similar format as the actual NGSA.
