Secondary education was stagnant under APNU/AFC – Education Minister tells National Assembly

…slams Opposition for saying there was ‘no need’ for new schools
…says PPP/C continues to invest in nation’s children

The Education Ministry, under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition, remained stagnant with little to no improvements – this is evident from the 78 per cent secondary education rate which did not budge during this time.
This was according to Education Minister Priya Manickchand during day one of the budget debate on Monday, in response to the Opposition’s claims that the sector’s portion of the $1.146 trillion National Budget would not yield positive results.
Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Coretta McDonald in particular told the House that there was ‘nothing’ to transform the lives of teachers in Budget 2024, and further criticised the building of new schools across the country undertaken by the Government. According to her, there was ‘no need’ to do so under the former Government.
“This Budget will not and has not done anything for our people in education…The Minister seems to believe that the construction of schools is the solution to all of the crises that we are facing.”

However, during her debate presentation, the Education Minister sought to set the record straight. She disclosed that the APNU/AFC entered office when there was a 78 per cent access to secondary education. When it returned to the Opposition benches, that figure had not budged.
“Unfortunately, when we came back, it was the same 78 per cent, because you didn’t build a single secondary school in this country…The APNU/AFC holds the view that there is no need to build any secondary school, because they have enough. And I wonder what the Honourable Member, Dawn Hastings has to say about that where children in Jawalla and Kopinang and the Upper Mazaruni do not have a school to go to.”
She added that the rollout of several new schools would provide hinterland communities such as Awarewaunau, Maruranau, Karasabai, Shea, Kwebanna, Waramuri, Horsororo with a secondary school facility – where such is lacking.
This year, Government will be finishing the Horsororo Secondary to accommodate 700 children, North West Secondary for 850 children, Kwebanna Secondary for 500 children, Jawalla Secondary for 500 children, and Karasabai Secondary for 500 children.

Christ Church Secondary, North Ruimveldt Secondary, St George’s Secondary, and St Mary Secondary will also be rebuilt in Georgetown, along with Christianburg Secondary in Linden. In total, $28.7 billion will be expended to move Guyana closer to universal secondary education.
Upon entering office, the Minister outlined that there was need for 7000 seats in the secondary education system. Through a robust buildout over the past three years, some 4575 seats were created.
She questioned, “How could you not support that? How could you have a criticism for that? And how could you stand here and tell this nation that you don’t think those 7000 people need seats at school? You have declared that you have no intention of educating the children.”
Manickchand zeroed in on the bigger picture of increasing access to education, which translates to breaking the cycle of poverty, fosters a skilled workforce, contributes to nation building and paves the way for a brighter future.
In Budget 2024, more than 13 per cent of the entire fiscal plan has been allocated to the education sector – higher than the 10 per cent which the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries set aside in their respective plans.
Moreover, now 99 per cent of teachers are trained or in training. In 2019, only 31 trained teachers existed in the hinterland when compared to the current figure of 1011.
“That’s what investment, sensibly done, does. The only time this country went without an education sector plan that was published from 1993 to now is the five years that APNU was in office. They did not have a sector plan. And they said they’re the party that could plan and project and measure. They didn’t even have a sector plan!” she stressed.
Tangible results, Manickchand added, were reflected in the increase from 19 per cent to 58 per cent pass rate at Annai Primary School, from 22 per cent to 67 per cent at Aishalton Primary School, and from 15 per cent to 60 per cent at Sand Creek Primary among many others.
In response to McDonald’s position that the education sector was ‘suffering the worst’ under the current leadership, the Education Minister whipped out an article dated 2018 where the former was quoted in her position as Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) Executive in a headline that read “Nation’s educators received more under the PPP”.
Government has implemented a full salary for teachers in training, adjusted the salary disparities in the system, instituted duty-free provisions for senior teachers, and introduced the GOAL programme – from which more than 21,000 persons have benefited.
Some 19,000 children will get meals in the hinterland this year, and each student in the public and private systems will receive a $45,000 “Because We Care” cash grant.