Govt exploring new policies for schools, greater supervision for students – Education Minister

…calls for collective approach to address bullying, violence in schools

Education Minister Sonia Parag has disclosed that efforts are being made to establish new policies to create a safer school environment, as she calls for enhanced supervision in schools to curb the growing number of bullying incidents and violence.

This comes on the heels of several violent incidents in schools that resulted in injuries to children, as well as heightened bullying in schools.
Back in November 2025, the Education Ministry launched the anti-bullying and anti-violence campaign in collaboration with a number of other ministries and institutions. This initiative saw a series of public consultations being held across all 10 administrative regions with a wide cross section of civil society stakeholders.
Coming out of those engagements, which wrapped up in June, were thousands of recommendations and suggestions. According to Minister Parag, they have since gone through all the feedback, and have prepared a draft report of the outcome of those consultations. This will be used to inform a new policy for schools.
“We will be pulling out from those recommendations and those suggestions… and perhaps consult with the public once again, in relation to what we can now reframe and restructure as policies and that can operate the Standard Operating Procedures in the school system – a guide for what teachers should be using for students, and what should obtain in the school environment,” the education minister stated during a video statement on Sunday.
Additionally, Parag also called for heightened supervision in schools, including the classroom, at recess, at the lunch hour, and after school over while the children remain in the compound waiting to the picked up.
Moreover, since last year, the Education Ministry created a Moral and Civic Education curriculum that is already being implemented in the school system from nursery level to secondary with the aim of inculcating values in children to help mould them into good persons.
But even as the government is taking these steps to make schools safer for the country’s children, the minister says for this vision to truly be achieved, there is a need for a collective approach, especially involving parents.
“Behavioural patterns are not something that children are born with. It is what they’re exposed to. It is what they learn. It is what they are taught. It is the things that they see and impressions that have been created upon them. Parents, I’m asking you to keep that line of communication open with your children. Speak to your children. Talk to them about kindness. Talk to them about the importance of inculcating good values and good behavioural patterns. Talk to them about what they should do in a school environment and how they should be. Talk to them about when they’re playing with their friends, that they must be considerate and kind, that rough playing can result in somebody being injured. Talk to them about coming to you and telling you if they are being bullied or go to the teacher or go to someone in authority to say if they are being bullied,” Parag stated.
In the same breath, the minister urged teachers to similarly listen to children and pay keen attention to complaints of bullying and injuries.
“I’m asking you to kindly treat it with the seriousness that it deserves and to treat it fairly,” she stated, adding that there needs to be better engagements between parents and teachers. In fact, the minister says that the Parent-Teachers Associations (PTAs) should also step up and play a greater role in bringing these issues to the forefront and having it deal with it.
For its part, Parag noted that the Education Ministry will be strengthening its engagements with schools, head teachers and the PTAs. Already, she noted that the ministry is playing an active role by ensuring that each report of bullying or school violence is properly investigated. In fact, the minister disclosed that several incidents reported as recent as last week are now under active investigations.
“So, in relation to bullying and violence, this is something that needs to be addressed not only by the Ministry of Education and the Government of Guyana, but by parents, but by our teachers, but by religious leaders, community leaders, civil society, the private sector. All of us should play a role in ensuring that we work towards reducing or removing bullying and violence, whether it’s in our schools or elsewhere.”
“No child should feel unsafe going to school. No child should be afraid to go to school because that child will not be able to learn… I can understand the concern of many parents and the fear of many parents, but we all have to play a part in this. And so, we will work towards ensuring that we have stronger systems in place,” the Education Minister asserted.