As the government adjusts education delivery to a pandemic sensitive modality, it has allocated a whopping $60.6 billion in the 2021 budget to support education delivery.
Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh told the National Assembly during his budget presentation Friday that this is to support the delivery of world-class education in Guyana.
He said the government intends to equip all nursery to secondary schools with the necessary resources, including trained and highly qualified teachers. He announced the construction of new secondary schools in Regions Four, Six and Nine with upgrades to be done to schools in other regions.
To this end, $5.2 billion has been allocated for the construction and rehabilitation of education facilities. The University of Guyana will receive $3.3 billion to finance the operation of its two campuses in Regions Four and Six.
Another $884 million was allocated to equip and re-tool technical vocational training centres. As the government pushes ahead with its Online Training Institute, which hopes to deliver 20,000 scholarships over the next five years, $1 billion was set aside in the 2021 Budget to support online learning.
Dr. Singh complained about the state of the public education system, explaining that when the PPP/C government took office, the education sector left much to be desired.
He said the education sector was plagued by inadequate supervision and lack of accountability; something that must be reversed immediately.
Dr. Singh also promised improvements at the teachers training college – the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).
