Our education system was modelled after that of our colonial master which was designed to primarily serve the needs of the privileged class and this resulted in a historical sharp education gap between the affluent and the poor and under-privileged class. Consequently, during the colonial era, and even in the early post-colonial era, only an elite group were being able to qualify in the legal, medical, engineering and academic fields.

The parents of the working class simply could not afford to finance higher education for their children, and even for those who could have afforded the opportunities were not there as they were restricted for the children of the privileged class. So the children of the poor were destined to a life without education or to a very low level of education, which aggravated the already high level of poverty.
However, following the establishment of internal self government, the PPP government between 1957-1964 made a determined and persistent effort to change the education status quo. In this regard, secondary schools were established across the country, during the tenure of Cedric Vernon Nunes as Education Minister.
As a result, thousands of students in the rural communities were able to access secondary education and many went to pursue higher education and this was significantly enhanced with the establishment of the University of Guyana and the Guyana School of Agriculture, both being the brainchild of Dr Cheddi Jagan. In-service teachers’ training centres were also established in rural communities.
During this period our educational standards rose significantly and we became the most literate country in the English-speaking Caribbean. Unfortunately, with the ousting of the PPP government in 1964, and the advent of the PNC government the solid education system created by the PPP government began to plummet at an alarming rate and by the end of its 28-year term our education system was crawling on its knees and we became the least literate in the English-speaking caribbean and also our performance at examinations were the lowest.
However, with the return of a PPP-led government we have seen our education system not only transformed to respectability, but it has made significant strides albeit there is still much to be done.
In recent years our students have been copping top awards at CSEC and CAPE and what is extremely encouraging is the fact that many of these students have been coming from our rural secondary schools, unlike the past when they came almost exclusively from the urban-based top schools such as Queen’s College, Bishops’ High, President’s College, St. Stanislaus College and a few others.
This clearly tells us that we are rapidly moving towards achieving equity in our education system.
On this note we are also seeing a most heartening development with the establishment of A-list schools, the most recently commissioned one being Bygeval Secondary.
Students who would have missed placement at the national or senior secondary schools by a few marks earn placement at A-List Secondary Schools. These schools are equipped to accommodate and bring out the best academic and extra-curricular performances from its students.
Over the last few years, some of the A-List Secondary Schools and the students who attend those schools have been performing as well as, and even better than, some of the Senior Secondary Schools. For example, in 2012, the student who topped the Caribbean at CSEC attended the Abram Zuil Secondary School in Essequibo and in 2013 the student who topped the Caribbean at CSEC attended the Anna Regina Secondary School, also on the Essequibo Coast. Anna Regina Secondary also received the best performance prize in the Caribbean for Technical Vocational Education. These schools are both A-List schools.
So we are currently seeing great strides being made in reducing the gap between students in urban and rural communities being able to access quality education. This is an imperative if we are going to make that quantum leap in socio-economic advancement as a country.