Region 10 records 10 % decline in Social Studies

NGSA results 2019

Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Education Officer Rabindra Singh, in his analysis of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) 2019 Examination results for the region, told the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) at a recent statutory meeting that the results are not much different from that of last year, despite the successful performance of a few students. He noted, however, that systems are being put in place to correct the underperformance.
Singh noted that a ten per cent decline in Social Studies and a five per cent increase in the Mathematics is of great concern and warrants urgent attention.
According to him “too much focus is being placed on the Math and English”, resulting in an overall pass rate of 51.1 per cent for Mathematics and 65.6 per cent for the English as against Social Studies falling below 50 per cent and Science with 52.7 per cent.
He also noted that the schools along the Berbice River such as DeVelt, Kimbia and Mount Carmel did exceptionally well. They had students placed at A-list schools, despite the shortage of teachers as well as qualified teachers. The Department has already begun taking actions to improve performance by hosting a one-week training sessions for all teachers in Sub Region 2 of which 96 teachers attended.
The Council also unanimously voted to commence reconstruction on the Christianburg Primary School.
Regional Chairman Renis Morian and Councillors urged the Regional Education Officer to collaborate with Parent Teacher Association (PTA) bodies and look at ways in which the RDC could help to strengthen the students in their areas of weaknesses.

Countrywide decline
While there has been a countrywide improvement in students’ performance in Mathematics, the other subjects recorded a whopping decline.
The pass rate for each subject is calculated by the number of students who would have obtained 50 per cent or more. Only Mathematics saw an increase from last year’s statistics with an upward trajectory from 38.3 per cent to 42 per cent. However, the overall performance of English dropped from 60.6 per cent to 57.4 per cent. The same followed for Science with figures decreasing from 46.8 per cent to 46.4 per cent and Social Studies with 46.1 per cent to 39 per cent.