—President Ali says alarming levels of violence, gang activity and Online abuse in schools are driving urgent national interventions
PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has announced a national public consultation on cyberbullying and social media, amid what he describes as “alarming” levels of misbehaviour, gang activity and other delinquent behaviours in secondary schools across Guyana.
Citing official reports, the President on Friday said there were recorded incidents of misbehaviour in 353 schools, nationwide, with Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) accounting for 41 per cent of the reported cases, followed closely by Regions Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice), respectively, in the number of cases reported.
“This is a big problem. I was looking at the numbers, and we had reported incidents of misbehaviour in 353 schools nationwide. And if you look at the recorded instances over the years, spanning all of our regions, it is alarming,” the President told reporters during a press conference.
He noted that higher levels of challenges were reported at Diamond Secondary, Soesdyke Secondary, East Ruimveldt Secondary, Canje Secondary, Bartica Secondary, and the Linden Foundation Secondary Schools.
CYBERBULLYING AND GANG ACTIVITY
Dr. Ali identified rising gang activity, increased substance use, including vaping, and cyberbullying on social media as key drivers of the problem, describing cyberbullying as “a major escalation in the entire school system”.
He warned that many of the incidents extend beyond school compounds, as Online abuse spills over into physical confrontations.
“We see rising gang activity, increased substance use, and vaping, [and] cyberbullying on social media… This is a major escalation in the entire school system,” he stated, adding that social media posts often “amplify humiliation and trauma”, and trigger copycat behaviour.
The Head of State said the government is now launching the promised public consultation on cyberbullying and social media, as outlined in the administration’s party’s Manifesto. Teachers and parents, he noted, have been reporting the increasing and alarming nature of cyberbullying that leads to consequential effects in the school system.
In response, the administration is rolling out a suite of interventions, including greater coordination among agencies, more counselling services, and a standardised referral system for cases of misbehaviour.
The President also flagged increased school monitoring, investment in security cameras, and scanners in high‑risk areas, alongside a “heavy investment in counselling, coaching, and the building out of scholars’ programmes”, with mentors and father figures in targeted schools as solutions.
AI AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Dr. Ali further disclosed that artificial intelligence (AI) will be integrated into the State’s response to help anticipate and prevent school-based violence and delinquency.
“That is why the AI is important in helping us to address predictable behaviour and behavioural patterns, so we can be more proactive,” he said.
Emphasising that the issue cannot be solved by the education system alone, the President called for greater parental guidance and wider community involvement, including from religious organisations.
“We can be more proactive, have greater parental guidance and community involvement. Greater involvement of the church, the mosque, the temples and reforming our policies dealing with and addressing cyberbullying,” he said.
Dr. Ali also highlighted a gender imbalance in the teaching workforce, pointing out that the majority of teachers are women.
He said the Government must find a mechanism to give greater support to educators.
“One of the other challenges we have is the majority of teachers in the school system are women, so the male falling back out of teaching, so we have to find a mechanism to give our female teachers that support in the system, more school monitoring, investment in security cameras, implementing it in high-risk area, maybe a scanner system, small scanners for bags, and so on, [and] heavy investment in counselling and coaching.”
Describing school delinquency as “a very complex issue”, the President signalled that the upcoming consultations on social media and cyberbullying could be paired with other youth‑related policy reviews, as his administration moves to tighten regulations, modernise support services, and address the root causes of violence and indiscipline in the education sector.
The government also mulled the creation of a reporting system and monitoring system that allows for confidentiality and real time interaction, the President is hoping that this will be integrated with additional training for teachers to provide interventions where necessary, career guidance and substance abuse seminars.
Over the past two years, Guyana has seen a worrying rise in violence and bullying in schools, from the viral assault video at Zeeburg Secondary in January, to the alarming bullying incidents at Charity and New Campbellville Secondary Schools.
Parents across Guyana were being urged to play a more active role in guiding and monitoring their children, after a meeting at the West Ruimveldt Secondary School highlighted concerns about prohibited items being brought onto the school compound, and broader issues of bullying and violence.
The call was made back in March of this year after a concerned parent who attended the meeting shared images on social media showing a table filled with items that had reportedly been taken from students over time. Among the items displayed were lighters, toy guns, knives of various types, and other objects considered inappropriate for the school environment.
