Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, has credited equity-driven interventions, consistency, and hard work in Guyana for achieving its best-ever performance in this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA). Speaking at the release of this year’s results, Minister Manickchand reflected on the challenges her ministry inherited in 2020 and the strides made since.
She told the gathering that upon assuming her role in 2020, just 49% of children had achieved 50% or more in their exams. She said that today, that number has risen to 63%. This translates to over 3,000 more children scoring above 50%.
The minister attributed the results to intentional investments in textbooks, school feeding programmes, teacher training, and classroom infrastructure. “We gave them textbooks. We gave them breakfast. We gave them teachers and classrooms. We increased monitoring. And we stayed consistent,” she said.
Manickchand highlighted the shift in resources that once favoured only those who could afford it. Textbooks like “_Guyana, Our Country Our Home”_ and _“Process of Learning English Language”_ were once largely available only to private school students or families with the means to purchase them online or overseas.
She said that over 90% of all children did not have access to these materials. But all that changed in 2021, she said.
“Every single Grade Six child, whether they lived on a mountaintop, in a valley, on the coast, or along a riverbank, received all the textbooks they needed. And today, we are seeing the results,” she said to applause.
Providing comparative data, Manickchand said that since 2015, pass rates have increased across the board. Mathematics rose from 37.9% to 55.51%, English from 45% to 69.25%, Social Studies from 46% to 64%, and Science from 44% to 63%.
“Today is the day we see how investment and hard work deliver the nation’s best results. Guyana’s children are achieving at historic level, and that is something worth celebrating.”
