Region Seven Top Ten NGSA students honoured

The top ten Region Seven students were rewarded for their exceptional performance in the
National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) amid the global pandemic.
Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal, during his visit to Kamarang, Region Seven handed
over a number of electronic devices (tablets) to the top students on behalf of the Parliamentary
Affairs and Governance Minister, Gail Teixeira, who has political responsibility for the region.
Addressing the students, Croal said that they are cognizant of the challenges faced by NGSA
students and applauded their success. “We have students across the country who participated and
wrote the National Grade Six Assessment, and at the time when students wrote the NGSA exams
it was not easy because of COVID-19,” Croal said. He pointed out that Kemora Edwards, who
attended the Kamarang Primary School, placed third in her region. Her passing score gave her
entrance to the Desiree Caesar Fox Secondary School. However, she was awarded a scholarship
to attend President’s College.

Meanwhile Priya Edwards, from Kako Primary copped fourth place, while Elisha Joe who
attended the Waramadong Primary got fifth. They were both awarded a place at the Desiree
Caesar-Fox Secondary in Waramadong. He declared that Government is aware of the important
role technology plays in the current society. As such, he has committed to ensuring persons in
hinterland communities are provided access to technology, targeting existing gaps. “In the
hinterland we strive to ensure that we bridge the gap to make the opportunity for all of you
children, that you must be able to access communication, you must be able to utilise technology
like those who are on the coast land,” Croal said.
The housing and water minister said that this is being done through Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) hubs being established across the regions. He stressed, that
this initiative will expose hundreds of hinterland citizens to free internet connection providing
access to unlimited online resources.
Minister Croal declared that they are over 200 Community Support Officers (CSO) who were
trained in the ICT programme. He added that they are imparting in them several components of
ICT including Computer Fundamentals, Microsoft Word Processing, Microsoft Excel 2016 and
Internet and Email. He noted that upon completion CSOs will return and serve their respective
communities, imparting their recently gained knowledge to residents. They will also receive a
stipend of $30,000 monthly.