353 reports of misbehaviour in schools across Guyana

…Diamond Secondary flagged for highest complaints

President Dr Irfaan Ali has expressed concerns at the alarmingly high number of misbehaviour reports coming out of schools in Guyana, something which he says requires a multi-pronged response. He was at the time responding to a question during a press conference on Friday about the Government’s intervention to curb the increase in school violence across the country.
According to the Head of State, “This is a big problem…we had reported incidents of misbehaviour in 353 schools nationwide. If you look at recorded instances over the years across all regions, it is alarming.” The President revealed that 41 per cent of these reported cases stem from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), followed by Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), then Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), and Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). He attributed this pattern to the population size of the regions.
In terms of registering the most and consistent number of reports, the Guyanese leader went on to name Diamond Secondary as the school with the highest levels of challenges, then Soesdyke Secondary, East Ruimveldt Secondary, Linden Foundation Secondary, Canje Secondary, and Bartica Secondary.
“This has become a very complex issue. We are seeing rising gang activity, increased substance use and vaping, and cyberbullying on social media. This is a major escalation in the entire school system,” he posited. Only earlier this month, a 14-year-old male student attached to the Tuschen Secondary School was taken into police custody for the alleged stabbing of two other male students, who were treated and discharged from the hospital. Previously, the Guyanese Government had announced that there would be nationwide public consultations on addressing cyberbullying and the impact of social media on children.
President Ali indicated on Friday that, “Teachers and parents are reporting the increasing and alarming nature of cyberbullying that leads to consequential effects in the school system.” We have seen that this extends beyond the school compounds of the school. We are also seeing, based on reports and analysis, a lot of copycat behaviour and amplification of humiliation and trauma. Sometimes what you see on social media has ripple effects… so, addressing these issues is critical.”
Late last year, the Education Ministry launched a major campaign against bullying and violence among students and young people. Those consultations continue this year with a series of weekly anti-bullying consultations across the country to gather feedback and recommendations from stakeholders at the community level. Additionally, the Ministry has launched an Anti-Bullying Reporting System (ABRS) in November 2025. Last month, it was reported that since its launch, 58 reports of bullying were received via the digital platform, and 48 of those have already been resolved.
It was noted that data from the platform, combined with feedback from nationwide consultations, will help shape a comprehensive national policy on anti-bullying and school violence prevention.

Multi-prong response
Meanwhile, the Head of State said that a series of other initiatives have been launched that will allow coordination among Government agencies, increased counselling services, a standardised referral system, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help address predictable behavioural patterns so that the response can be more proactive rather than reactive. However, the Guyanese leader outlined that tackling these issues also requires greater parental guidance and community involvement in children’s lives. In fact, he underscored the important roles religious bodies and leaders play in addressing these challenges.
In the same breath, he stressed that reforming national policies is also key in dealing with and addressing cyberbullying. Another challenge the President highlighted is the lack of male teachers within the school system. With the males falling out of the teaching profession, he said this leaves female teachers at risk of aggression, especially from male students. Back in January, a female teacher came under attack by a male student at the Charity Secondary School in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). A separate incident that month saw another female teacher attempting to part a fight between two girls at the Carmel Secondary School in Georgetown, during which she came under attack by several female students.
While both incidents were condemned by the Education Ministry, President Ali contended that “we have to find a mechanism to give our female teachers that support in the system – more school monitoring, investment in security cameras, implementing it in high-risk areas, maybe a scanner system, small scanners for bags, and so on.”
In addition to the reporting and monitoring systems, the Head of state also emphasised the need for more training for teachers, especially to deal with violent behaviours from students. Moreover, the President also touted heavy investments in counselling, coaching and the building out of Scouts programmes in different schools, especially some targeted institutions, where there can be father figures and mentors as Scout guides to curb at-risk behaviour and create a more positive mindset among young people.