By: Trichell Sobers
The Ministry of Education is actively considering the possibility of scrapping the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), subject minister Priya Manickchand revealed today.
Speaking at the launch of the National STEAM Fair on Wednesday, Minister Manickchand said that Guyana’s education system is entering a transformative period where traditional models must evolve to better meet the needs of today’s learners and the demands of a modern, rapidly developing society.
“We are looking at various new things that we could do. With universal secondary education, do we still need a placement exam? Because that’s what NGSA is,” she highlighted.
“Do we need a placement exam, or can we transition to secondary schools because we now have enough in your community?”
The Minister emphasised that in order to phase out the NGSA as a placement mechanism, the government must ensure that every secondary school offers equitable and high-quality education across all regions. This, she noted, is already in motion through massive investments in school infrastructure, teacher training, curriculum expansion, and digital access.
On this point, Manickchand made it clear that eliminating the exam does not mean eliminating competition.
If parents and students still desire access to high-demand schools, options can be designed for competitive entry. However, the broader goal is to remove high-stakes pressure from children at age 11 and make education more inclusive and developmentally appropriate.
“This doesn’t mean we’re taking away from competition. If you want to gain a particular number of schools, we can set an exam for those who are competing for those schools,” she explained.
At NGSA, primary school pupils are tested in four subjects namely, Mathematics, English, Science and Social Studies. The examination in each subject area consists of two papers. Paper One consists of multiple-choice items while Paper Two consists of essay-type or open-ended items.
Historically, a pupil’s performance at these exams would determine their secondary school placement.
This year, more than 15,000 pupils across the country sat the NGSA.
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