Speaking at the launch this morning, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand
As the Ministry of Education seeks alternative and innovative measures in the delivery of education during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Ministry in collaboration with the Guyana Learning Channel (GLC) and National Center of Educational Resources Development (NCERD) today launched a National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) Booster.
The Booster is aimed at providing Grade Six Students with the requisite knowledge that is needed for them to be prepared for the exams.
While the Minister of Education in the past has provided the student will be learning packages, this programme is set to more enhance the way students learn by way of having the lessons taught on two media platforms.
Those platforms are said to be on National Television through the learning Channel and through YouTube.
Speaking at the launch this morning, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand said that this programme by way had to be introduced knowing the present circumstances of COVID-19 but how empathizes that this is no way looking to replace face-to-face interaction but at the moment, the Ministry must think of new ways of learning to not deprive any student of learning.
Ms. Manickchand added that the aim of the programme is to have each student through the platform, have the same learning area taught from a 20-week curriculum that was made due to COVID-19.
“This programme here today is a programme, where every single topic in that 20-week curriculum is going to do on video by your local teachers, who understand you, who’s the accent you understand and who understand the concept we created in that curriculum because they have been teaching it for years, and who are very nice to look at…
“So, the shows, the videos, are going to be videos that reflect every single topic in that 20-week curriculum,” Ms. Manickchand explains
She added that while students are tested in the past with questions from Grade Six, this year they will only be tested with a question from grade one to five, and withstanding such the frequently asked question through the years will be a highlight in the video presentations.
Even with such innovation, hinterland communities will be catering according to the Minister with an ongoing assessment of homes that are deprived of such amenities. This the Minister said will lead the provision of television, satellite, and solar panels by the end of the year.
This however said that remains a challenge and the ministry has to now improvised and find ways to get to those communities.
“In the meanwhile, this is a challenge how do we reach those communities. We are presently doing an audit of some communities don’t have satellite and learning channel but they have a TV. So, we are looking to see how we can download put all of these on flash drive go into the communities and give them that.”
The Programs shown on the channel will be created by the GLC in a collaboration with teachers from across Guyana.
With daily advertising of the topics being taught, students will be told when to tune in, as teachers present their topics in innovative ways.
Those Grade 6 Six Exams are set for August 4 and August 5.
