Guyana on track to achieve 100% secondary school enrollment by 2025 – Manickchand

…as 26 secondary schools under construction will increase access to education

From a time when only 30 per cent of those writing the then Common Entrance Exam were able to attend secondary school in Guyana, the government is targeting a 100 per cent rate of attendance by next year.
This was according to Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, who during the recent commissioning of an aquatic therapy pool for special needs students, explained the strides that the government has made towards increasing enrollment of Secondary School students.

“We moved from a place where 30 per cent of our children could access secondary school. Out of every 100 that were writing NGSA, only 30 could go into high school. To a place where we insist that by next year, it’s going to be 100 per cent of our children accessing secondary schools,” Manickchand said.
“That’s because we’re building secondary schools as we speak. We’re in the process of building 26 secondary schools. We’ve moved from a place where 33 per cent of our teachers were trained. To a place where we tell you that by next year, 100 per cent of our teachers will be trained or in training.”
Further, Manickchand pointed out that even though nursery school is not compulsory, Guyana has the highest enrollment rate in the Commonwealth Caribbean. This is all down to Guyana, under the right political leadership, benefitting from government spending.
“When we discovered oil and started receiving (revenue) it is very easy, if you’re a government that gets carried away and who doesn’t understand that their sole purpose is to improve every single life in this country and every single home, to get carried away with the high rises and the new hotels. We’re building seven or eight right now. And the highways and the roads.”
“And the bridges and the other fancy things, you can forget people easily. And I’ve seen other places do that. You forget people. We’re very sure in the government that in this new build out of Guyana, people will be at the forefront of our priorities,” the Minister said.
According to Minister Manickchand, the children and other vulnerable groups such as women, indigenous people and hinterland residents, remain a priority of the government. She pointed out that the government’s people centered focus can be seen across various sectors.
“Our children will always enjoy priority status. Our women, our Amerindian and hinterland residents. Everybody is going to get attention. I hope you see that in the agriculture sector, in the housing sector, in the Amerindian affairs Ministry sector. in every sector, you see a different kind of development and build out and herein education, even as we change what access looks like,” she said.
This year, the Ministry of Education featured prominently during the sod turning for multi-million-dollar school projects. They include July 1, 2024, when the sod was turned for the construction of the $208 million Monkey Mountain Secondary School, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).
The project is part of a larger allocation of $407 million for the construction of secondary schools in Region Eight. The new school will cater to the educational needs of students from Monkey Mountain, Taruka and Tusseneng. In addition, it will also comprise a teachers’ quarters and a small dormitory for the children of Taruka and Tusseneng.
In addition to Monkey Mountain, secondary schools are being constructed in Micobie and Kopinang while dorm facilities and schools are being significantly upgraded at Paramakatoi and Kato.
A sod turning event was also held this year for the construction of the much-anticipated Waramuri Secondary School in Region One (Barima-Waini), the construction of which is pegged at $326 million.
And only last month, the Minister of Education officially turned the sod to commence the construction of the new Orealla Secondary School in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). Located in Orealla, a riverain village along the Berbice River, the school has a total project value of $198.8 Million.