By Dacia Richards | HGP Nightly News
A total of 15,813 students were registered to write this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), and according to the Ministry of Education, 15,497 have already been confirmed as present—marking one of the highest attendance rates in recent years.
Minister of Education Priya Manickchand praised the turnout, stating,
“It’s the highest we’ve seen since COVID, and if we go back even to pre-COVID years, this would be one of the highest turnouts we’ve ever seen.”
This year’s exams, which took place on April 16th and 17th, included several historic firsts:
- 115 students with special education needs were among those who wrote the assessment.
- For the first time, 91 students wrote the NGSA in Spanish, highlighting the system’s evolving inclusivity.
Boosting Attendance with Supportive Initiatives
The Minister attributed the increased turnout to new education support initiatives introduced nationwide. She noted that all public and private school students received a standardized stationery package, which included pencils suitable for shading, rulers, erasers, sharpeners, and other necessary items approved for use in the exam room.
“We wanted to remove any possible barrier to participation,” Manickchand said.
Region 5 Leads in Attendance
Region 5 stood out with a 98.85% attendance rate, the highest in the country.
The NGSA is a critical step for primary school students, as it determines their placement in secondary schools when the new school term begins in September 2025.
