MINISTER of Education, Priya Manickchand, last Thursday, announced plans to construct a modern secondary school at Cotton Field on the Essequibo Coast, in a move aimed at improving the educational infrastructure in the Region Two.

During a recent visit to the area, the Minister highlighted the importance of community involvement in the project, ensuring that residents’ input is considered as part of the development process.

“We are trying to build a modern, new secondary school at Cotton Field on the Essequibo Coast. Here, we are trying to scope out an appropriate area for said construction. And of course, this won’t happen without full community involvement,” Minister Manickchand said in a Facebook post.

This new secondary school is part of the government’s broader initiative to expand and modernise educational facilities across Guyana. Several schools are currently being built or extended to accommodate the growing student population and improve access to quality education.

Among these are new schools in Regions One, Four, Seven, Eight and Nine, with extensions and upgrades planned for existing institutions in these and other regions.

The Education Ministry’s focus on modern infrastructure aims to provide students with more comfortable and technologically equipped learning environments. This is part of the government’s larger agenda to improve the overall standard of education, which includes upgrading teacher training and incorporating digital tools into the classroom.
The Cotton Field project is expected to significantly ease the strain on existing schools on the Essequibo Coast, which have faced overcrowding in recent years.

The government doled out $3.8 billion in the first half of 2024 to upgrade and expand education infrastructures in all parts of the country.

Construction investments are aligned with a comprehensive policy to spend efficiently the $135.2 billion allocated to the Ministry of Education in Budget 2024 to improve the education sector.

This includes $4.1 billion for the University of Guyana and $4 billion for the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme.

Additionally, $4.9 billion is dedicated to the school-feeding programme, benefitting about 126,000 children nationwide.

The “Because We Care” student grant was increased to $40,000 per child in addition to a $5,000 uniform voucher, amounting to $9.2 billion for these transfers.

During the first half of 2024, a total of 114,080 textbooks were procured for the secondary schools at a cost of $562.6 million.

Additionally, 400,368 textbooks for primary schools will be delivered by the end of the year.

Further, $363 million was spent to offer training through COURSERA in the first half of 2024.

Over 5,200 persons have completed at least one course, and more than 19,000 persons are currently enrolled for courses in areas such as data analysis, business analysis, strategy and operations, communications, leadership and management among others.

Additionally, $755.7 million was spent to commence ICT training for the first cohort of 300 persons.

Of the $2.3 billion allocated for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) this year, $777.3 million was spent at the end of June 2024, of which $305.7 million was expended by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT). Persons are being trained in areas of agro-processing technologies, fibre optic installation, heavy duty equipment operation and general building construction among others.

Notably, the government commenced the first phase of the University of Guyana Student Loan Write Off Programme. Student loans totaling $203.7 million were written off for 346 persons to date, and it is expected that an additional 2,900 persons will benefit in the second half of the year.