President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali announced that in the next five years, his government will provide resources to create recreational spaces that help support students’ education.
Importantly, all public schools must dedicate Fridays to sports and physical education (PE), President Ali said during the commissioning of the new Brickdam Secondary School on Monday, where he outlined this and other future initiatives for the sector.
Beyond classrooms and textbooks, President Ali stressed that Guyana’s children are growing up in a vastly different environment.
“I believe strongly that if we are to make a shift from the device-led world to a human-led world, we need to make these important changes,” he stated. “And I would say that one of the priorities would be reorganising our education system to make Friday afternoons, completely dedicated to physical education, recreation and sport development.”
He also called on parents, faith-based groups, and communities to work together to instil discipline, respect, and life skills during these sessions. He called for the return of values that build character.
President Ali said that investing in education focuses on people and creating a skilled workforce.
Over the past five years, the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration has invested $600 billion into the education sector.
In the 2025 budget alone, some $175 billion has been allocated to fund the construction of new schools, renovating existing ones and maintaining these facilities to the highest standards.
“This is an investment in the brains, hearts, and hands of our children,” President Ali underscored.
These investments are bearing fruit with improvements recorded in the National Grade Six Assessment results. The English pass rates have increased to 69.2 per cent, while mathematics has increased to 55.5 per cent in 2025.
