Last week President Irfaan Ali, while delivering remarks as co-chair of the Transforming Education Summit Leaders Roundtable Discussion, which is a part of the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), said Guyana’s education system will ensure “no one is left behind.”
Truth be told the education system is leaving many behind. Primary education delivery in Guyana, when compared with others around the world, is ranked 28 place from the bottom and pupil-teacher ratio placed 53 from the bottom.
The statistics immediately below, produced by Guyana, are dismal. They show many children are being left behind, through no fault of theirs, but the fault of governmental policies and an education system that have not kept pace with children’s unique developmental needs. Figures do not lie.
The figures below acknowledge students who receive 30 per cent marks or higher in a given subject area. Percentages are lowered thereby creating false perception children are doing better when in fact they are doing worse.
Guyana’s official language is English. Yet 47 percent of 14,703 children writing the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations are scoring 30 per cent or higher in the subject area. Less than half of primary school children are scoring in English when taking the dismal 30 percent marks into consideration.
Statistical review showed some improvement from 2017-2021 but still not good enough.
Below is Guyana’s ranking on the world stage between 2000-2012 as prepared by NationMaster. NationMaster is an online database that tracks statistics released from organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), World Bank, World Trade Organisation (WTO), Institute of Statistics, and many others. The information produced by the body is used by universities, governments, corporate and international institutions.
| STAT | AMOUNT | DATE | RANK | HISTORY |
| Average years of schooling of adults | 6.2 | 2000 | 48th out of 100 | |
| Children out of school, primary | 25,072 | 2011 | 59th out of 116 | |
| Children out of school, primary per 1000 | 31.7 | 2011 | 16th out of 116 | |
| Children out of school, primary, female | 8,693 | 2011 | 59th out of 102 | |
| College and university > Gender parity index | 2.39 | 2011 | 4th out of 91 | |
| College and university > Share of total education spending | 5.06% | 2012 | 17th out of 18 | |
| Compulsary education duration | 11 | 2012 | 20th out of 109 | |
| Government spending on education > Proportion of GDP | 3.19% | 2012 | 14th out of 22 | |
| High school enrolment rate | 93.17 | 2007 | 56th out of 96 | |
| Literacy > Total population | 98.8% | 2003 | 31st out of 161 | |
| Primary education, duration > Years | 6 | 2012 | 29th out of 200 | |
| Primary education, teachers per 1000 | 5.07 | 2011 | 54th out of 134 | |
| Pupil-teacher ratio, primary | 24.59 | 2011 | 53th out of 131 | |
| Pupil-teacher ratio, secondary | 20.86 | 2011 | 29th out of 99 | |
| Secondary education, duration > Years | 5 | 2012 | 167th out of 197 |
