EDUCATION Minister Sonia Parag’s decision to begin direct, scheduled engagements with Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) across Guyana is both timely and overdue.
At a time when the education system is being asked to deliver not just higher examination passes but better-rounded, more resilient students, the move signals a recognition that policy cannot succeed by ministerial circulars alone; it must be rooted in the daily realities of schools and communities.
For decades, PTAs have existed as a bridge between parents and schools, often stepping in to solve problems that fall outside the narrow boundaries of classroom instruction.
In many villages and neighbourhoods, these associations have been the first line of response when a fence collapses, a washroom becomes unusable, or a school struggles to mobilise community support.
Yet, as the minister herself acknowledged, most formal interactions have traditionally been with ministry officials rather than with the political head of the sector.
The result is a familiar one:Policies crafted at the centre, filtered through layers of administration, and sometimes arriving at schools diluted, misunderstood, or poorly adapted to local conditions.
Parag’s plan to change that approach, by engaging PTAs directly and personally, should, therefore, be welcomed.
It comes against the backdrop of a wider transformation in Guyana’s education system, including heavy investment in new and rehabilitated school buildings, expanded teacher training, curriculum reforms, and renewed attention to attendance, dropout rates, and learning outcomes.
These reforms, however, will only succeed if the people who live with their consequences every day—parents, teachers and students—feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for them.
The issues slated for discussion during these engagements are the right ones: Student attendance, dropouts, gaps in academic delivery, infrastructure challenges, and school management concerns.
These are not abstract policy questions; they are the lived experience of families who watch children miss weeks of school, of teachers who struggle with overcrowded or under-resourced classrooms, and of communities that sometimes feel disconnected from decision-making in Georgetown.
Direct engagement also has the potential to improve accountability on both sides.
The ministry will hear, unfiltered, where its policies are working, and where they are not.
At the same time, parents and PTAs will be reminded that education is not something delivered by the State alone, but a shared responsibility.
A stronger partnership can help ensure that attendance improves not only because rules exist, but because families understand and support them; that infrastructure is protected not only by contracts, but by community pride; and that school management improves not only through directives, but through local oversight and involvement.
There is, of course, a cautionary note. For this initiative to matter, it must be more than a listening tour or a social media exercise.
The promised structured schedule and sustained follow-up will be crucial. Communities have long memories of consultations that produced good conversation but little change.
If PTAs are to invest their time and energy, they must see that concerns raised are recorded, acted upon, and revisited.
Still, the principle is sound. In a rapidly changing Guyana, with rising expectations for what public services should deliver, the education system cannot afford to operate at a distance from the people it serves.
By stepping out of the office and into direct dialogue with PTAs, the minister is acknowledging a simple truth: strong schools are built not only by budgets and policies, but by trust, communication and genuine partnership.
If carried through with seriousness and consistency, this initiative could help move Guyana’s education system closer to that ideal, and remind us all that educating a child is, and must remain, a collective effort.