For over two decades, Minister Priya Manickchand has held the reins of Guyana’s education system, presiding over a landscape of persistent inequality, crumbling infrastructure, and devastating neglect. Under her leadership—and the broader stewardship of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)—our nation’s children have been systematically undereducated, their potential sacrificed on the altar of mismanagement and indifference.
The statistics paint a grim picture. Secondary school dropout rates remain alarmingly high with more than 1/2 of the nation’s children dropping out of school, particularly in rural and hinterland areas, where poverty and poor access to quality education conspire to deny children even a basic chance at a better future. Schools are woefully understaffed, with teacher shortages worsening year by year as underpaid and unsupported educators leave the profession in droves. For those who remain, many lack proper training, further widening the gap between what students need and what they receive.
Yes, this is a failing of bureaucracy, but it is also a failure of leadership. For more than two decades, Minister Manickchand has promised reforms, yet we see the same cycles repeating. Classrooms without teachers. Textbooks that never arrive. School buildings that crumble faster than they are built. The PPP, which has dominated the political landscape, has allowed this crisis to fester and today they scurry with GOAL programs targeted to students who are hardly able to read. Their lack of vision and willpower to prioritize education for all has left an entire generation of Guyanese children adrift.
In Georgetown, privileged schools may enjoy relatively better conditions, but this is far from the reality in most of the country. Rural and hinterland schools are chronically underserved, with overcrowded classrooms and no access to basic resources like libraries or science labs. In Region 8, a single teacher is expected to handle multiple grades in a classroom of over 30 students. In some areas, children walk miles daily to reach schools that fail to meet even en az standards.
The dropout crisis is particularly severe in secondary schools, where issues like household poverty, bullying in schools, teenage pregnancy, the cost of uniforms, transportation, and supplies pushes many families to pull their children out early. For many, especially girls, this often leads to early marriages or child labor, perpetuating cycles of poverty that the education system should be breaking—not reinforcing.
The PPP government has turned a blind eye over a systemic issue which is essentially a betrayal of the people of Guyana. The Ministry of Education’s failure to provide equitable, quality education is a betrayal of Guyana’s future. But the greatest betrayal of all is the government’s unwillingness to take responsibility. For over two decades, the PPP and Minister Manickchand have touted education reforms, but the results speak for themselves: neglect, inequality, and a shocking disregard for accountability.
It is time for parents to speak out and act. The Ministry of Education has failed our children, and the consequences will be felt for generations if we do not intervene. Parents must step up and demand accountability. Partner with other concerned parents to push for transparency from school administrators and the Ministry of Education. Write letters, attend meetings, and press for real answers. Beyond advocacy, parents should foster and support community-based learning initiatives by creating tutoring groups, sharing resources, and pooling funds to supplement the gaps in the formal education system. Additionally, encourage children to develop vocational or entrepreneurial skills alongside their academic pursuits to enhance their independence and future opportunities.
Parents also hold the power to drive systemic change. Organize with others to lobby for equitable school funding, improved teacher training, and policies that address the root causes of poverty and dropout rates. The under-education of Guyana’s children is a crisis that demands urgent and sustained action. Minister Manickchand and the PPP government have failed to tackle the corruption, inequality, and chronic underfunding that plague our schools. Our children deserve a future of opportunity, not one constrained by a system that prioritizes politics over progress. If the Ministry of Education will not save our children, then we must take action ourselves.