Digital school already attracting Caribbean interest – Pres Ali

– Digital Wallet among other initiatives soon to be rolled out

Even though it has not been launched as yet, the soon to be rolled out Guyana Digital School is already attracting interest from other countries in the region, including Barbados, who want to enroll their own students here.
During the launch of the Guyana Learning Channel’s Digital Channels on Saturday, President Dr Irfaan Ali made announcements regarding the digital school and digital wallet initiatives.
When it comes to the digital school, the President revealed that the school is already attracting interest from Barbados and other parts of Caribbean.
“The digital school will be just like an interactive school. But on a digital platform. We’ll have buildings to house the school. We already identified one building that is completed in Region Six. One in Essequibo. And definitely we’ll have one here in Region Three,” President Ali said.

“Students will be attending the digital school, but the school will be accessible to every single child across the country… We’ve already had tremendous interest in the Caribbean. Barbados especially, wanting to have their children registered on the digital school. So, this school will be serving not only Guyana students in Guyana, but also out in the region.”
The digital wallet is another initiative that will also be rolled out. This initiative will be supported by India – a collaboration that was cemented during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Guyana last year.
Last year, Memorandums of Understanding were signed with India to set up payments system like the United Payments Interface (UPI). According to the President, the digital wallet forms another plank in the Government’s efforts to transform the digital landscape.
“In every aspect of national life, we are putting the infrastructure in place to unleash in the next five years, a digital platform that will support every aspect of life in Guyana. So, soon you will see we’ll launch the digital wallet.”

“And we’re working with India on migrating our payment platform to a digital platform. Where payments will be made from your phones and that will be now your payment wallet. So that is important,” the Head of State said.
President Ali later spoke of other digital initiatives being planned by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, such as a digital system for driver’s licence renewal. There will also be other automated payment systems implemented for Government services, including from kiosks.
“We are now working to be among the first 10 per cent of countries to have digital licence renewal portals. [The portals are] like kiosks [or] ATM machines. We will have it across the country, and you just scan your licence, and you just use your debit or credit card, and you renew your licence right there in a mall or a police station,” President Ali said.
According to the President, his Government’s vision behind these digital services is to not only make the provision of such services more efficient, but to also remove the element of human biases and mistakes.
This is already in place at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) and other ports of entry, where an automated border management system that allows persons to fill up their immigration forms using this electronic platform, is up and running.
In February of this year, Deputy Chief Immigration Officer, Superintendent Stephen Telford, had announced during an interview with Radio Eve Leary that they were working on deploying the automated system at all key entry points.
At the time, the automated system was only being used at the CJIA. Previously passengers were required to fill out printed forms upon arrival, a task that often causes delays and frustration.
With the new system, travellers can complete these forms in advance, with the information being shared directly with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). And instead of waiting in long lines to be processed by an immigration officer, travellers can now simply swipe their ID Cards or passports and proceed.
This not only speeds up the entry process, but also reduces congestion at the airport, enhancing the overall passenger experience. This integration of digital systems reduces the likelihood of errors, speeds up customs processing, and ensures better tracking of goods entering the country.
The announcement would follow the theme of the PPP/C Government’s efforts to digitise healthcare. As a matter of fact, more than 250 Guyanese are expected to be trained as Health Informational Systems and Technology (HIST) technicians, to implement, manage and maintain a national Electronic Health Record (EHR) system.