IN a country where education is widely regarded as the most reliable pathway to opportunities, the renewed emphasis on Parent-Teachers Associations (PTAs) by Minister of Education Sonia Parag is both timely and necessary.

Her call for parents to be more involved in schools is not just administrative talk: it points to a long-standing problem in the education system that, if fixed, could greatly improve student outcomes all over Guyana.

For too long, the relationship between parents and schools has been mostly one of reacting.

Parents are only called in when there are problems, such as bad grades, trouble with discipline, or skipping school.

Teachers, on the other hand, often work without the steady help or insight that involved parents can give.

When they work well, PTAs fill this gap. They make education a shared duty instead of a one-sided duty.

Minister Parag’s claim that PTAs help make schools stronger and students smarter is based on both real-life experience and research from around the world.

In school systems all over the world, parents who are involved in their children’s education have been linked to better grades, better behaviour, and higher rates of graduation.

This collaborative model is not only helpful in Guyana, where problems such as student absenteeism, dropout rates, and uneven academic delivery still exist, it is also necessary.

The minister’s comments stand out because she says that many important issues are not being communicated through official channels.

Concerns that are never brought up with high-ranking education officials often only come up in group PTA meetings.

This indicates a communication bottleneck in the system, which PTAs are uniquely equipped to address.

These groups make problem solving more democratic by giving parents, teachers, and administrators a place to talk openly. This makes sure that worries are heard.

The minister’s ambitious plan to get PTAs involved in almost 1,000 schools across the country is just as important. This project is very big, but it shows a strong commitment to getting people involved at the grassroots level.

The Ministry of Education is serious about decentralising its approach and listening directly to stakeholders by visiting schools in different parts of the country and, when necessary, sending the Chief Education Officer to do so.

But ambition has to go hand in hand with sustainability. PTA meetings can’t just be one-time talks that don’t lead to any action. For this project to work, there need to be clear ways to keep track of problems that come up, put solutions into action, and tell communities what happened.

This effort will either change things or just be a symbol, depending on how open and accountable it is.

A bigger change in culture is also needed. Parents need to do more than just go to meetings; they need to be involved in making the school better.

This includes helping with discussions about infrastructure, supporting academic projects, and helping kids learn at home.

Schools must also be willing to see parents as partners in the learning process, not as outsiders.

Guyana’s education system is at a very important point right now. More money is going into it, the curriculum is changing, and more people are realising that it needs to get better as a whole.

Strengthening PTAs fits with these bigger goals because it focuses on one of the most important but often ignored parts of education: the connection between home and school.

If done right, this project could change the way schools work. Instead of being separate places, schools could become community centres where working together leads to success.

The message is clear: it’s not just the government’s or teachers’ job to make education better.

It needs parents, communities, and students to all be involved. The strength of an education system is not only in its rules, but also in the people it works with.

The ministry is putting PTAs at the centre of this effort because they believe that when parents and teachers work together, students will benefit the most.