President Irfaan Ali has announced that his government intends to keep its promise to provide free tertiary education in Guyana, which he said will come on board by 2025.

Addressing the UN Transforming Education Summit Roundtable on Monday in New York, the President said the government also plans to increase education expenditure to ensure that there adequate and sustainable financing for the education sector.

“Tertiary education will be provided free of cost by 2025, as part of our efforts to revamp the education system, the government will increase education expenditure to 20% of the national budget and 6% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP),” the President said.

President Ali said his vision is to ensure that every Guyanese child finishes both primary and secondary schools. He told the forum that the Guyana Government will make the necessary intervention to ensure that the country has a well-rounded education system.

“Guyana commits to an inclusive education system, one that leaves no one behind, this entails narrowing access and gaps by ensuring every school-aged child in regions is entitled to a sound primary and secondary education”, the President pointed out.

The President acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic affected education globally and Guyana was not spared. However, he said Guyana was able to implement measures to assist with the learning loss, noting that those measures were not without their challenges.

“The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted schooling for more than 20 months, however initiatives were initiated to ensure that the absence of formal schooling, did not mean the end of learning. Remote learning was implemented and digital and non-digital learning resources were provided,”   the President told the forum.

The President said his government will continue to introduce measures to make up for the learning loss, and those will include accelerating tutoring services, the creation of a learning platform to bring students back to their grade level and an early warning system that identifies students who may be at risk of falling behind in the classroom.

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