CARICOM Chair lauds Guyana’s digital education drive at Heads of Government meeting

Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Prime Minister (PM) of St Kitts and Nevis Dr Terrance Drew on Tuesday evening lauded Guyana’s expanded digital education initiatives, describing them as a model for regional innovation and youth empowerment. Delivering the feature address at the opening ceremony of the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Basseterre, Drew highlighted Guyana’s flagship Guyana Digital School as a tangible example of how technological advancement can transform the region. “Technological advancement will define the next generation of Caribbean development,” Drew said. “Digital transformation strengthens governance, education, commerce and security. Initiatives such as expanded digital education offerings from our fellow Caribbean country of Guyana illustrate how innovation can widen access and empower our youth. We must strengthen digital infrastructure, enhance cyber resilience and cultivate technological capacity that supports diversification and competitiveness. Technological progress pursued together expands possibilities for all of our people here in CARICOM.”

The Guyana Digital School, launched last December as the brainchild of President Dr Irfaan Ali, employs a four-quadrant approach integrating technology, content, engagement and hands-on experiences to transform education and equip students with skills for the 21st century. The initiative extends full access to learners across the Caribbean region, making it available to CARICOM nationals beyond Guyana’s borders. Its features include an online, interactive curriculum aligned with Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) requirements, a digital library with textbooks and multimedia learning tools, support for hundreds of courses, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered assistance and virtual labs for practical subjects. The platform has been described as a gateway to digital learning and an enabler of essential skills, particularly for students who face challenges accessing traditional schooling. The launch of the Guyana Digital School was hailed as the beginning of an era in which education is continuous, flexible, and inclusive. Guyana’s digital push also includes the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), through which thousands of scholarships have been awarded for online courses in technology and workplace skills, producing tens of thousands of graduates since 2021. These initiatives form part of a broader national strategy often described as “Digital Guyana” or the National Digitalisation Programme, through which the Government has been investing in digital education and wide-ranging digitisation efforts to modernise public services, expand access to learning and build digital capacity. The country is also working toward full digitalisation of Government services by mid-2026. In his address, Drew underscored the importance of regional integration and collective advancement as he spoke on how development in different member states can benefit the collective countries in the region. “A world without a Caribbean Community would be culturally poor, intellectually diminished and spiritually less vibrant. Our integration was neither accidental. We must never, ever forget our foundational principles. By ourselves, many states could not have achieved what CARICOM made possible,” he said. Drew stressed that connectivity and cooperation are essential to advancing regional priorities. “Connectivity is the infrastructure of togetherness. It allows trade, culture and opportunity to circulate freely within our shared Caribbean space,” he said. “Trade must be advanced with renewed commitment. We must dismantle our barriers and strengthen regional value chains. We owe it to all of our people. Our response must be intelligence-driven and regionally coordinated. When institutions work together, meaningful progress is achievable,” the CARICOM Chair added.