“PPP/C will not rest until 100% of our children pass Mathematics, English” – Manickchand

…slams APNU/AFC for failures

In a fiery parliamentary presentation, Education Minister Priya Manickchand reaffirmed Government’s commitment to ensuring that every child in Guyana achieves a passing grade in Mathematics and English.
The Minister’s comment came on heels of Opposition Member of Parliament Coretta McDonald’s remarks on Day 3 of Budget Debates, where she accused the Government of mismanaging the education sector.
In fact, McDonald described Manickchand as Government’s “weakest link” and claimed that billions of dollars spent on education had not delivered significant results.
Additionally, she argued that despite the construction of new schools, literacy and mathematics outcomes remain inadequate, with fewer than half of high school students graduating.
“Sir, education outcomes are directly related to leadership. If the leadership is bad, there will be bad outcomes. As simple as that. We have seen nothing in the past five years to discredit this theory. Garbage in, garbage out. There is no good going around about this,” McDonald said.
“Sir, the stark reality is one cannot be free if one is uneducated, and in any country, let alone Guyana. Yet this country, this Government, continues upon a trajectory that consigns this essential portfolio to one of some, but of no real importance. McDonald said and called for greater emphasis on teacher quality and addressing overcrowded classrooms…Teachers, Sir, in many, many instances are teaching in classrooms with students that ought to be handled by several teachers. Sir, general literacy and mathematics literacy are at an appalling level. Science and mathematics are being neglected, and the country is falling further and further behind in competitiveness in these most important fields,” she added.
In response, Minister Manickchand criticized the former A Partnership for National Unity – Alliance For Change (APNU-AFC) Coalition Administration for what she described as a lack of tangible solutions to address poor academic performance during their tenure.
Citing alarming statistics, Manickchand highlighted that in 2016, only 14 per cent of Grade 6 students passed mathematics, a figure acknowledged by then Finance Minister Winston Jordan.
Further, she revealed that the opposition’s response to the crisis was to establish a commission of inquiry that yielded no substantial results or official report.
“The PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/Civic) will not rest until 100 per cent of our children pass mathematics and pass English. We will not rest,” she reassured.
“Jordan told the house that improving the quality of education will not be fixed by building more schools. They had the same position then. Same position, throw up your hand and send somebody to do an inquiry, children failing, people don’t know to count and read and they established a commission of inquiry. Just to be clear of the completion of this picture, that was never submitted to the parliament, never officially published by the Ministry. We don’t know where it went,” Manickchand said.
Manickchand also spotlighted the strides made under the PPP/C Government to improve education infrastructure, noting the construction of 28 new secondary schools, 27 primary schools, 60 nursery schools, and multiple dormitories for hinterland students.
She contrasted this with the current Government’s proactive measures, including the introduction of a math intervention programme that provides students with scientific calculators, geometry sets, graph books, and organised past papers.
“This is not a Guyana problem. What have we done, sir? So that is the issue. We know we have a problem. CXC (Caribbean Examinations Council) has said to us, they’re putting a solution in place and it will begin in September 2026. So, what are we doing, sir? We have immediately put and kicked into gear our own math intervention. What’s that math intervention? We’re giving to every fourth and fifth form of scientific calculators, geometry sets, graph books, all the textbooks they need, and past papers organised by topic. We’re sending in monitors to make sure teachers are teaching and finishing the syllabus. And we’re going school to school and talking to the parents about their role. We are doing something about it. We are doing something to take us to the place of 100 per cent. They recognised 14 per cent passed in 2016. And by 2017, all they had to tell the nation was they were going to set up a COI (Commission of Inquiry),” the Minister went on to state.
The Minister criticised the opposition for undermining the Government’s efforts and dismissed their claims that the current administration is merely continuing projects they initiated.
Moreover, Manickchand emphasised the Government’s push for free tertiary education at the University of Guyana (UG), tuition forgiveness, and initiatives such as the GOAL programme, which has enabled over 28,000 individuals to complete their secondary education.