As the first day of the 2024 National Budget winds down, there were several accusations laid at the feet of the Government by the Opposition, in relation to the education sector.
Member of Parliament Coretta McDonald, expressed that “the PPP/C doesn’t want UG to grow”, because it grows as a body that checks the government and their actions, with students leaving the university conscious and capable of thinking critically.
“The University of Guyana has been given a mere 4.1 billion, while a three-year-old program is allotted 4 billion,” stated the Shadow Minister of Education.
She posited that this budget should include a provision to ensure all teachers are trained in ICT, to allow for computer literate teachers. This is to allow for proper delivery of education if online learning is to be considered.
She said that the Government can continue to develop UG, while moving to online learning, citing “the PPP/C cannot control the University, and what they cannot control, they do not fund.”
Minister Manickchand, who spoke after McDonald, listed reasons why she believes that the Opposition should not criticize the Government’s efforts in this sector.
Referencing McDonald’s speech, she stated that the Opposition believes that because there are fights in school, they should not build any more schools, as they are “not important”.
She refuted this and went on to list the many schools in the Government intends to build in the near future and is currently working on, totaling 28.7 billion dollars of the 2024 Budget.
She added that the government intends to build an additional six primary schools in regions 1, 3, 4, 9 and others.
The minister stated that these plans are maintained despite the UN determining that Guyana has already attained universal primary education.
Additionally, she revealed that for the first time in history, the Government gave teachers money to buy materials, reminding the Opposition that they did not provide any such funds.
Minister Manickchand reminded Shadow Minister McDonald that she stated in 2018 that teachers received more money under the PPP/C administration.
For the next four days, members of the National Assembly on both sides of the House will offer their stance on the $1.146 trillion 2024 National Budget that was presented on January 15.