42 Reg 2 schools set for major overhaul, construction in 2026

– New nursery schools earmarked for Capoey, Siriki, Hackney & Bethany Village

Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) is set to benefit from a sweeping expansion of its education infrastructure in 2026, with the Government announcing 42 new school projects alongside four major rollover works, as detailed during the 2026 Budget Consideration of Estimates in the National Assembly on Thursday.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Priya Manickchand outlined what she described as a transformative year ahead for the region’s education sector, covering new construction, extensions, rehabilitation, sanitation works, drainage, water systems, electrical upgrades, and improved facilities across nursery, primary, and secondary schools.

The Minister confirmed that four rollover projects will continue this year, which include the construction of new nursery schools at Bethany, Siriki, and Hackney, along with the construction of a duplex living quarter at Friendship Primary. She disclosed that the Siriki Nursery School has already been completed and is currently in use.
“Siriki Nursery, I’m happy to say, is completed and in use. We have 42 new projects where schools across Region Two will either be constructed, rehabilitated, or extended,” the Minister stated.
These include the construction of a new nursery school at Capoey and extensions to Mainstay Lake, Lima, and Onderneeming nursery schools. Duplex living quarters will be constructed at Ulele Primary and Jacklow Primary, while a septic tank will be built at the dormitory of Anna Regina Secondary.
Several schools will benefit from the construction of sanitary facilities, including Hampton Court Nursery, Hackney Primary, Capoey Primary, and Adventure Primary. Rehabilitation works are earmarked for Charity Secondary School, while water trestles will be constructed at Marlborough Primary, Mainstay Lake Primary, Siriki Primary, Anna Regina Secondary, Strong Hope Primary, Bethany Primary, St Monica Primary, and Mashabo Primary.
Kitchen facilities will be constructed at Wakapau, Lillydale, Jacklow, Lima Sands, Tapakuma, Barakara, and Strong Hope primary schools.
Additional works include revetment construction at Martindale Primary; reinforced concrete drains at Better Hope Primary and Marlborough; walkways and sheds at 8th of May Secondary and Wakapau Primary; tarmac works at Abram Zuil Nursery; grill cages for security at Charity Secondary and Aurora; a storeroom at Martindale Primary; and electrical installation works at Huiste Dieren Primary, Better Success Nursery, Ulele Primary, Reliance Nursery, Anna Regina Nursery, and Good Hope Nursery.
Addressing concerns about secondary school capacity, the Minister told the National Assembly that the Cotton Field Secondary School, a major project valued at approximately $2 billion, is ongoing and scheduled for completion by September 2026.
The project is expected to alleviate pressure at Anna Regina Secondary, which currently operates double sessions. The Minister further stated that Kabakaburi and Wakapau are no longer functioning as annexes to Charity Secondary but are being developed as independent secondary schools with their own administration and staff.
“We don’t have Kabakaburi as an annexe anymore. Kabakaburi is a discrete secondary school that is going to have its own staff, its own administration, its own cleaners, all of that… This is a more wholesome way to educate our secondary-aged children.”
On the issue of teacher training, Manickchand explained that for nearly two decades, Guyana’s trained teacher rate remained stagnant at approximately 60 to 62 per cent, largely because the system was graduating only about 535 teachers annually through the Cyril Potter College of Education.
However, she revealed that with the introduction of online training after COVID-19, graduation numbers increased significantly to just under 2000 teachers per year.
The Minister added that this sharp rise in output has allowed the country to move beyond the long-standing stagnation, pushing the percentage of trained teachers to over 80 per cent, with approximately 98 per cent of educators now either trained or currently in training.
“Ninety-eight per cent of our teachers are trained or in training. So, I heard somebody say 100. It’s never going to be 100 because you take on teachers who don’t yet enter training college until the new term begins. So, there’s a very small two per cent or so that will fall into that category,” the Minister said.
Minister Manickchand also highlighted improvements in student performance nationally, pointing out that the NGSA overall pass rate moved from 37 per cent in 2023 to 70.2 per cent in 2025.
She cautioned that matriculation rates were affected by global post-COVID challenges, particularly in Mathematics, but expressed optimism that improvements in infrastructure, teacher training, and universal secondary access would strengthen outcomes in Region Two.