To facilitate the sitting of exams in the hinterland region, the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) has approved flights that will transport national examination papers and scripts between Eugene Correia International Airport (ECIA) and 16 locations.
While the flight dates are to be determined, caretaker Minister of Education Nicolette Henry has made the provision for the flights in the June 2, 2020 Gazette, under the COVID-19 Special Measures- Administration of National Examinations.
The order to facilitate the sitting of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examination, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) was gazetted on Wednesday.
Signed by Henry, the order stipulates that public schools will be opened from June 8 to August 15, to prepare students for the sitting of the examinations.
The order addresses the public health protocols which will be implemented for the examinations.
NGSA was scheduled to be held on April 8 and 9, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, the Education Ministry announced the timetables for NGSA, CSEC, and CAPE. CSEC has been set for July 13 –August 4, 2020, while CAPE examinations have been set for July 13–July 31, 2020.
Following the announcement, President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Mark Lyte, expressed concerns on behalf of teachers countrywide.
Lyte said the GTU membership believes that the timeline for the examinations is too soon, since there is no decrease in spread of the novel coronavirus in Guyana.
“It created a bit of panic among teachers. Our concern is the state Guyana is in in relation to us having positive cases being identified almost on a daily basis…that is a cause for concern, because here we are, asking primary school-age children to come out to get whatever prepping they need for July 1 and 2”, the GTU President said.
