Education Ministry slams WIN candidate’s political exploitation of child’s death
Dear Editor,
The Ministry of Education has noted a most unfortunate and fallacious statement issued by a candidate of We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), Amika Lewis. Her statement, which questions the National Grade Six Assessment result of Adriana Younge, was clearly meant to excite emotions by exploiting the death of an innocent child. This is reprehensible and has serious consequences.
The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) sets, manages and marks the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA). This has been happening since 2016. If one were to bring into question CXC processes and qualifications, then one would be bringing into disrepute and into question every single Guyanese and Caribbean citizen or person who ever got CXC qualifications and certificates.
This has serious consequences for our young people and their entrance into tertiary institutions (locally and abroad) and into places of employment. It is selfish and reckless to jeopardise the future of all of our young people for some cheap political points.
The other reality is that Adriana Younge was registered to write the NGSA at Meten-Meer-Zorg Islamic Academy. Her parents removed her from this school and sent her to Parika Salem Primary School after her registration for the NGSA. She therefore wrote the assessment as a “walk-in candidate” at Parika Salem Primary School, something that is allowed. When this happens, a different candidate number for this different exam centre is issued to the candidate on the exam day.
Each child is required to answer 4 questions per subject at the paper 2 level, except for English, where one essay or letter is written. Each child’s scripts are marked by at least 13 people, as each question is marked by a different person seated at a different table in different rooms.
Each child’s scripts are then re-marked by at least another (and a different) 13 people who are not at the same table or even necessarily in the same room. This entire process is managed and done by CXC. Paper 1 (the multiple-choice questions) is sent to Barbados and marked by a machine. Changing a grade would require the collaboration of an enormous amount of professionals inside and outside of Guyana. It simply is not possible.
The child who topped the country did not drop a single mark. She earned 100%. The bar was set high, and the reality is that anyone who lost more than 13 raw marks, relative to subject performance, could not get into any of the national schools in 2025.
We will not divest ourselves of the responsibility we have to maintain confidentiality of children’s scores and/or their academic history to make a point or at all, but we ask this political candidate aunt to look inward and be honest. We also ask political candidates during this period to be responsible in their pronouncements. Our children deserve no less.
