NGSA postponed due to coronavirus threats

Days after announcing that all public schools will be closed for the next two weeks, the Ministry of Education has now announced that the 2020 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) will no longer be written on April 8 and 9, 2020, due to the coronavirus threat within the country.
The Ministry in a statement on Monday asserted that careful thought was given before the decision was made and as such, will advise stakeholders on the new dates set for the secondary school entrance examination.
“The Ministry of Education wishes to notify the general public that due to the current situation; careful thought has been given to the scheduled dates for the administration of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) 2020. As such, please be advised that the previously announced dates (April 8 and 9, 2020) are no longer valid. Adequate notice will be given with regard to the new dates,” the Ministry added in the statement.
Moreover, parents are being encouraged to continue working with their children in preparation for the examination, as well as students in other grades, by working practice test papers and tuning into educational programmes.
On Friday the Ministry opted to close all public schools for two weeks as precautions heighten amid the COVID-19 epidemic across the world and confirmed cases in Guyana.
The MoE had initially advised persons to take the necessary precautions as advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in relation to COVID-19 but later recanted their decision of keeping these institutions open amid the threats.
Also, the Mayor and City Council had announced that all the municipal daycare centres – South Road, East Ruimveldt, Festival City and Industrial Site – will also be closed for two weeks.