By Svetlana Marshall
Guyana recorded its best National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results in the history of the exams, the Ministry of Education reported today as this year’s results were released.
This year has seen major improvements in all four of the subject areas of English, Science and Social Studies and Mathematics.
The results show that 69.25% of the pupils passed English Language compared to 66.79% in 2024, while the country recorded a pass rate of 64.7% in Social Studies, compared to 62.88% in 2024.
Additionally, 63.7% of the pupils passed Science compared to 54% in 2024, while the country recorded a 55.51% pass rate for Mathematics, compared to 40.36% last year.
Dubbing it “the nation’s best results,” Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, said the improvements recorded in English, Science, Mathematics and Social Studies are as a result of prudent investments in the Education Sector.
“Investments, conscious investments, back breaking and consistent work where we were forced to put on blinkers and block out the noise, and daily strides that we didn’t get celebrated for on the front pages or any page of any newspaper, has shown us today that once we invest in our children in this country, they will do well. And today, we celebrate Guyana’s best results across every single subject, ever in the history of this country,” Minister Manickchand said to loud rounds of applause.
The overall pass rate was pegged at 63.7%. A total of 15,813 children wrote the exams this year.
“When I came in 2020, 49% of our children had achieved 50% or more. Today, it is 63.7% of our children who received 50% or more, crossing that 120 marks, that’s taking more than 3000 children, actual human beings and putting them in a place where they could score more than 50% because we give them the text books, and the breakfast, and the teachers, and the classrooms to sit in, and the monitoring,” the Education Minister said.
Minister Manickchand was keen on noting that of the 901 children who will be placed in the national top schools, 492 of them are from public schools, and 409 are from private schools.
She also said the 2025 cohort was able to succeed at the NGSA notwithstanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and its lingering effects.
This cohort was in Grade One when the Government was forced to close schools, and had been out of school for two years.
“The UN, UNICEF, the World Bank, all the IFIs had predicted that we would see tremendous learning loss reflected in results, and early school leaving, what we know in Guyana to be drop-outs, and Guyana has defied both of those predictions. Again, not by magic but by constant conscious investment led by a president who understands the value of education all across this land for every single child,” the Education Minister said.
Cognizant of the challenges, Minister Manickchand said the Education Ministry took a decision to consolidate the curriculum for Primary school learners, compiled concise notes, provided breakfast daily, rolled out a number of digital programmes including quiz-me, and expanded the learning channel to the various regions. She said schools were monitored regularly, even as the Education Ministry pushes towards an Education System where 100% of the teachers are trained and certified.
She assured that the Government will continue to invest in the Education Sector and effectively bridge the divide between the coast and the hinterland.
CXC’s Director of Operations, Dr Nicole Manning applauded the nation’s children on their remarkable performance, particularly in Mathematics and Science, which are subjects that are largely considered challenging.
The NGSA is compiled and marked by CXC in keeping with their standards.
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