THE youth arm of the Alliance for Change (AFC), known as the Youth for Change (YFC), will be ‘pushing’ to ensure that free tertiary education is restored in Guyana if the incumbent coalition government is re-elected for another term in office.

“One of our biggest push, as the youth arm, will be free tertiary education,” YFC member and Councillor of Georgetown, Ayodele Roach, told the Guyana Chronicle at the launch of the APNU+AFC elections campaign on Friday. Roach indicated that this push for ‘free education’ is in tandem with the YFC’s broader focus on efforts to foster the development of young Guyanese.

On Friday, President of the YFC, Juretha Fernandes, addressed the sizeable crowd at the rally. Here, she indicated the body’s fervent support of the APNU+AFC coalition. Here, she posited: “A vote for the coalition is a vote to ensure that your education is secure… A vote for the coalition is a vote for training and empowerment.”

Free tertiary education is one area of focus President Granger has committed to once re-elected. In August, the Guyana Chronicle reported that President Granger indicated that it is his aim to restore the right to free education, in accordance to the Constitution. This, he said, was part of his drive to ensure that all citizens in Guyana have access to educational opportunities so that they can add to nation-building efforts.

Article 27 of the Constitution of Guyana states: “Every citizen has the right to a free education from nursery to university, as well as at non-formal places where opportunities are provided for education and training.” Guyana, under the People’s National Congress (PNC) Government, offered free education from nursery to university. However, today, only education offered from nursery to secondary is free.

In September, with General and Regional Elections on the horizon, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C’s) presidential candidate, Irfaan Ali, highlighted that the party’s manifesto includes ‘free tertiary education for all Guyanese’. However, it was the PPP/C that introduced fees for UG, in 1994.

Even as those fees were introduced, the constitution was not amended to reflect this. And upon realising what is detailed in the constitution, an informal group of young people banded together into a “Free University of Guyana Movement” last year. When interviewed by the Guyana Chronicle, member of the movement and advocate for ‘Free UG’, Elson Lowe, related that the group is advocating that a portion of oil revenues be used to make education at the university free once again. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who is also an elder Statesman of the AFC, told residents of the Essequibo coast that the incumbent government was considering scrapping university tuition fees if the coalition is victorious at the next general elections.