GHK Lall on Common Entrance Results: “Nice Numbers, But Let’s Not Get Drunk on Them”

In a characteristically sharp and thoughtful commentary, columnist GHK Lall has weighed in on the recently released Common Entrance results, applauding major gains—particularly in Mathematics—while cautioning against premature celebration and calling for deeper scrutiny of what the numbers truly mean.

Lall began his piece on an upbeat note, highlighting the impressive jump in Mathematics pass rates—from 49% to 63% of students scoring over 50%—a leap he called “sweet” and “worth a big hand.”

“A 28.57% jump is something to drool over,” he wrote, expressing both admiration and a hint of astonishment given the nation’s longstanding struggle with Math and what he referred to as the “raw materials” and “anxieties” surrounding the subject.

He reserved special praise for Tanasha Hope Destiny Mayers, the student who achieved a perfect score in this year’s exams. “Nice numbers, nicely done, Ms. Mayers,” Lall quipped, tipping his hat to her and the broader group of top-performing students.

But Lall’s tone quickly turned from celebratory to analytical. While acknowledging the Ministry of Education’s success—“if the numbers hold up,” he added with a dose of skepticism—he urged deeper reflection on what a 50% benchmark really means, especially in a nation with urgent needs for strong numeracy skills in a modern economy.

“How many are closer to that number and range (say 50 to 55, or 60%) than say 65% to 70%?” he asked pointedly. Lall promised a closer look at the data in follow-up commentary, noting that surface-level statistics can often obscure uncomfortable realities.

A notable milestone in this year’s results, he observed, was that public school students for the first time in years outperformed their private school peers in securing placements at Guyana’s top five secondary institutions. A total of 492 students from public schools earned top spots, compared to 409 from private schools—a development Lall called “awesome” and “well-earned.”

Despite that encouraging shift, Lall was more circumspect about the English results. With 69.25% of students scoring over 50%, he questioned why Guyanese children—whose first language is English—aren’t performing better.

“English is not a second language for Guyanese children,” Lall noted. “Yet when approximately 5,000 out of 15,000 of the little ones can’t make it to 50% in English, then I suggest some sobriety taking hold.”

He likened the current state of English performance to being overshadowed by a “wicked stepmother,” suggesting that something more systemic may be at play.

Lall warned against being overly trusting of national education statistics. “Let’s all be measured with statistics that come out of this country,” he cautioned. “I have been burned too often either to be blind or casual with these things.”

Still, the veteran commentator acknowledged the effort it took to reach the current performance levels and credited students, teachers, and families alike. But he emphasized that this is just the beginning.

“A good beginning calls for continuing and building,” he wrote. “The numbers gleam, the highflyers cruise on a cloud of joy, and the supporting cast has good reason to cheer. Say amen.”

Part two of his analysis is expected to delve further into the data—and, likely, the difficult questions behind them.