Norton claims “large percentage of Guyanese is illiterate” and cannot “read things”

Notwithstanding, Guyana recording some of the country’s lowest scores in the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) during the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) time in Government from 2015 to 2020, presidential candidate for the party is touting that the APNU is the only party that could solve an illiteracy problem in the country if elected come the September 1 General and Regional Elections (GRE).
Norton made this grand promise on Saturday as he addressed supporters and rallied support for the party at a public meeting in Bagotville on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD). According to Norton, if elected to Government the APNU would implement a “National Literacy Programme” to increase the proficiency level of Guyanese.
“If you have a population in which a large per centage is illiterate, how are you going to digitalise, how are they going to read things,” Norton said.
“As a Government, one of the first tasks we will undertake is a national literacy programme so that we can train a lot of those persons who cannot read and write. We’re saying to you that we want to go back to the base of the society and train our people right up until we have a literate functioning society.”
However, Norton’s assessment failed to take into account continuously increasing performance of Guyanese learners at successive national exams, as well as cases of dismal performances during the APNU tenure.
In a historic milestone for Guyana, students who sat the 2025 NGSA recorded significant improvements across all subject areas, marking the country’s best NGSA performance to date, with the overall pass rate increasing to 63 per cent from 49 per cent the previous year, and all four of the subjects seeing more than 50 per cent passes. In English Language, which is based on literacy, students recorded 69.25 per cent passes when compared to 66.79 per cent last year. In Mathematics, traditionally one of the more challenging subjects, also showed encouraging progress with an all-time high. For the first time in the country’s history, more than half of the students—55.51 per cent—passed the exam. This marked an over 16 per centage point increase over the 39.40 per cent pass rate that the pupils achieved in 2020 when the APNU left office. Moreover, it was under the APNU that Guyana achieves a dismal ten year low 13.85 per centage in Mathematics at the NGSA, which occurred in 2016. That year the Science pass rate also dropped to 27.55 per cent, while passes in English Language dropped to 41.62 per cent.
Since the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) return to Government, passes in the NGSA Language have consistently remained in the 60s, recording a 15 year high this year with a pass rate of 69.25 per cent.
Meanwhile Social Studies has also remained in the high 50s and over the past five years peaking at 64.7 per cent in 2025. Under APNU tenure the Social Studies score progressively dropped hitting 39 per cent in 2019, before rebounding to 53 per cent in 2020. Science has also consistently progressed in consecutive years since 2021 and peaked at 63.7 per cent at this year’s Assessment.
Aside from increasing performances at the NGSA, Guyanese learners have also been excelling on the regional scene where Guyana continues to cop major awards at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) annual Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).
In 2020 secured a total of seven regional awards across CSEC and CAPE in 2020, at CSEC Guyana won Most Outstanding Overall Candidate, Most Outstanding Candidate in Sciences, Most Outstanding Candidate in Business Education, Most Outstanding in Technical and Vocational Education, and Most Outstanding Performance in Principles of Accounts (ACCA award), while Queen’s College was presented with the CSEC School of the Year award.
For that same year at CAPE, Guyana also won the Most Outstanding Overall Candidate, Most Outstanding Candidate in Natural Sciences, and CAPE School of the Year. For the 2021 sitting Guyana achieved Overall Most Outstanding Performance in CSEC, Most Outstanding Performance in Business Education, Most Outstanding Performance in Technical and Vocational Education, Most Outstanding Performance in Humanities and Accounting ACCA Awards (CSEC level). At CAPE the country walked away with the Overall Outstanding Achievement in CAPE, third place in the ACCA CAPE Accounting Award and Most Outstanding Candidate in CAPE History while Queen’s College was again named the CSEC and CAPE School of the Year. For the 2022 sitting Guyana secured another seven regional top awards across CSEC and CAPE. In CSEC Guyana won Most Outstanding Overall Performer, Most Outstanding Performance in Technical & Vocational Education; Most Outstanding Performance in Business Studies, Most Outstanding in Humanities, Most Outstanding Performance in Sciences, and Anna Regina Secondary was named the CSEC School of the Year 2022.
For that year in CAPE Guyana won the Most Outstanding Overall Performer at CAPE, Most Outstanding Candidate in Natural Sciences and the Saraswati Vidya Niketan School was awarded CAPE School of the Year 2022.
For the 2023 sitting Guyanese students and schools won eight regional awards across CSEC and CAPE. At CSEC Guyana was awarded Most Outstanding Overall Candidate in CSEC, Most Outstanding Performance in Technical/Vocational Education, Most Outstanding Candidate in Business Education, Most Outstanding Candidate in Humanities, Most Outstanding Candidate in Sciences and Anna Regina Secondary School was named CSEC School of the Year 2023. At CAPE Guyana won Most Outstanding Overall Candidate in CAPE, Most Outstanding Candidate in Business Studies, and QC was CAPE School of the Year 2023.
For 2024, Guyanese students and institutions earned eight major regional awards in CSEC and CAPE. This included Most Outstanding Overall Student in CSEC, Most Outstanding Performance in Humanities, Most Outstanding Student in Business, Most Outstanding Performance in Technical & Vocational Education and Training, Most Outstanding Student in Sciences, Most Outstanding Student in Agricultural Science (Double Award), while Anna Regina Secondary School again copped the CSEC School of the Year 2024.
In CAPE, Guyana won Most Outstanding Overall Student in CAPE, Most Outstanding Student in Natural Sciences, and QC was named CAPE School of the Year 2024.