$100M skills centre for Mahdia

…as Govt allocates $183.6B for education sector in 2026

The Government of Guyana has announced the construction of a $100 million practical instructional centre in Mahdia, designed to equip students with hands-on, job-ready skills. Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh disclosed this during his Budget 2026 presentation at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Monday. The Finance Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to the growth and expansion of education across the country. “…Government’s education policy aligns Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) opportunities with labour force needs.

To this end, over the last five years, we have commissioned practical instructional spaces at Bartica, St. Ignatius and the North West District, Beterverwagting, Fellowship and Hopetown, benefiting more than 3,900 persons,” Dr Singh said. He drew comparisons with developments in 2025, noting that the Government completed construction of the Guyana Technical Training College (GTTC) campus in Port Mourant, which now delivers hands-on training to equip the workforce with skills for the oil and gas sector. To date, through the use of a state-of-the-art Facility Simulator (FacTor), more than 50 persons have graduated in areas such as mechanical, production and process operations, with an additional 20 expected to graduate in March 2026. Singh further highlighted that over 100 schools were constructed within the last five years across the nursery, primary and secondary levels, along with extensive maintenance and rehabilitation works countrywide. In 2025 alone, $36.3 billion was expended, while $24.3 billion has been earmarked for education infrastructure in 2026. “In 2026, a total of $24.3 billion is allocated for the completion of more than 40 schools, including Falls Top and Kanapang nursery schools, Cracrana and Diamond No. 2 primary schools, as well as Karaudarnau and Kwebanna secondary schools. Works will also advance on student dormitories at Jawalla, North West, Port Kaituma, Santa Rosa and Waramadong,” he said.

Education 2026
Overall, $183.6 billion has been budgeted for the education sector in 2026, compared to $183.5 billion expended in 2025 to support interventions across the sector. The Finance Minister also noted that the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) expended $2.6 billion over the last five years to train more than 14,000 persons, with 2,218 graduating in 2025. In 2026, $723.1 million is allocated to train over 2,000 additional persons in areas such as electrical installation, welding and fabrication, plumbing and furniture making. In 2025, $2.5 billion was allocated for TVET programmes, and a further $2.5 billion has been set aside to expand access in 2026. Highlighting the importance of trained educators, Dr Singh underscored the Government’s aim of achieving a public education system where all teachers are trained or currently in training. “The Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) trained more than 5,000 teachers over the last five years, of which 1,345 graduated in 2025. This increased the ratio of trained teachers from 69 per cent in 2021 to 86 per cent by the end of 2025. CPCE is also focusing on improving the number of specialists trained teachers in mathematics, science and music,” he said.

Textbooks
Addressing the availability of textbooks and classroom resources, Dr Singh revealed that the Government spent over $2 billion in 2025 to procure textbooks and reading materials. “All nursery schools now have access to reading books and all students in primary and secondary schools have the required textbooks for each subject area. In 2026, $2.3 billion is budgeted to replenish textbooks, workbooks and reading materials across all levels,” he said. Additionally, school grants were distributed to each school for the purchase of classroom materials. In 2025, more than $2.9 billion was disbursed, and $3.1 billion has been allocated to continue the programme in 2026.
Digital learning
Turning to digital learning, the Finance Minister highlighted the expansion of the Guyana Digital School initiative, which has been extended to Guyana’s CARICOM partners and currently serves students in Grades 10 and 11. “More than 22,000 students registered in 2025, and it is expected that all grades at the secondary level will have access by March 2026. The initiative is revolutionising access to educational content by making the curriculum freely available for supplemental learning. In 2025, $310.5 million was spent on the programme, while $176.1 million is allocated for 2026,” he noted.

School feeding programme
On the National School Feeding Programme, Dr Singh said approximately 110,500 children in all nursery and primary schools benefit from the initiative, along with nearly 4,600 children from 29 secondary schools in hinterland and riverain areas who receive hot meals. For 2026, $7 billion has been allocated to sustain the programme.

Tertiary education
Addressing tertiary education, Dr Singh said the Government has written off more than $3 billion in University of Guyana (UG) student loans, benefiting over 4,000 individuals and confirmed that the programme will continue in 2026. He also highlighted the impact of abolishing tuition fees at UG, noting that applications increased to more than 26,000 for the 2025/2026 academic year, compared with 17,800 applications in 2024/2025. In response to growing demand for engineering and medical sciences programmes, the Government will expand access to these disciplines in Regions Two, Three and Six at a cost of $1 billion in 2026. Already, 130 students have registered for engineering programmes. To support its expanded operations, UG has been allocated $14.5 billion in 2026. Singh further disclosed that 10,805 scholarships were awarded through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) in 2025. In keeping with the Government’s manifesto, the programme will now offer an unlimited number of scholarships to all eligible Guyanese. For 2026, $5.8 billion has been allocated to continue the initiative. Additionally, the Government launched a Public Service Upskilling Platform in partnership with Coursera, offering online professional courses to public servants nationwide. By the end of 2025, more than 490 public servants were enrolled in at least one course.