NGSA 2021 Region 6 analysis: More needs to be done to improve students’ performance in Science, Math – Region 6 Chairman

In light of the poor performance in Mathematics and Science at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), Region Six Chairman David Armogan says more needs to be done to improve students’ performance in those subject areas, especially as emphasis is being placed nationally on careers based on science and technology.
“We are not doing badly in English and Social Studies, but the two main areas that we need to focus on in this Region for students to acquire a good base, for them to progress in areas that are required for national development, (are) Science and Mathematics. We have got to do more work in those areas,” the Region Six Chairman has noted.

The NGSA 2021 results for Region Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne) show that the Region has been consistently improving in English when compared with the two previous years. However, Science and Mathematics have shown no improvement over the same period, and remain consistently low.
Statistics showed that 1,697 students in Region Six wrote the exams this year, and of that number, 62 percent, or 1018, attained at least half of the attainable marks in English. This compares with 57 percent last year and 52 percent in 2019.
Conversely, only 33 percent of the students attained the pass rate in mathematics this year, as against 35 percent last year and 38 percent in 2019. The results for science were not much different, with 39 percent passes this year, 41 percent last year, and 37 percent in 2019.
“It is consistent, but low. With 39 percent in the sciences when we are trying to push Mathematics and Science in the schools, then those two performances will have to be improved, because we are moving into oil and gas production and moving into science and technology; Mathematics and Sciences (are) the way forward for the development of any country, and we need to improve in these two areas,” Armogan has said.
In the other subject areas, Social Studies had a 54 percent pass rate. The top 11 students in the Region were awarded places at Queen’s College. Armogan thought that commendable, while noting that the children were not in physical classrooms.
“When you look at that, and have to factor it in as a consideration, one can say that the results were virtually the same over the last three years,” he said.
About 50 percent of the students in the Region who sat the exams attained at least 50 percent of the obtainable marks. Armogan is of the belief that many parents have not been supporting the educational development of their children.
Armogan noted that it is not only the system that is not performing as expected, but parents themselves are not living up to what is expected of them in terms of responsibility to their children.
“The responsibility for a child’s development does not only rest with a teacher. The teacher can only do so much with a couple of hours in school, and, for this year, they haven’t done much. So, the onus would have been on parents. A lot of responsibility has to be borne by parents to ensure that their children do the work at home and to make sure that they have study time. Parents have to take the education of their children very seriously,” he declared.
In 2019, 1700 persons sat the exams in Region Six. In 2020, 1827 persons sat the exams; while, in 2021, 1667 persons have sat the exams.