by Randy Gopaul
Each year, the Ministry of Education parades the country’s top CSEC and CAPE performers before the cameras. There they are smiling nervously, holding bouquets, shaking hands with the Minister. And each year, after the photo ops are done, the same students are left stranded. No overseas scholarships, no real opportunities to sharpen their brilliance against the world’s best. Just pats on the back, promises that go nowhere, and a GoFundMe page if they dare to dream bigger. University in Guyana is good enough for our best and brightest, but not for the precious children of our nation’s ministers.
It is the height of hypocrisy. The very students who have proven, beyond doubt, their ability to handle academic rigor, sitting 15, 18, sometimes 20+ subjects and excelling, are abandoned when the time comes to invest in their futures. What is the point of encouraging students to take on this academic challenge if not to demonstrate they can thrive in demanding environments like MIT, Oxford, or McGill? Instead of opening those doors, this government slams them shut.
Even the revenue-challenged Burnham government; in an era when Guyana had no oil, no booming economy, and scarce foreign reserves, carved out fiscal space to fund Guyana Scholarships and Guymine Scholarships. Those awards sent the best and brightest, regardless of race, overseas to represent their country and return to build it. What excuse can today’s oil-rich administration offer?
The truth is ugly. Ministers’ children attend top universities overseas on the backs of taxpayers, while poor and middle-class children must beg strangers online for donations. This is more than negligence; it is deliberate discrimination masquerading as fiscal prudence. The message is clear, privilege is rewarded, merit is not.
Minister Priya Manickchand has become the face of this farce. She is always present for the cameras, quick to claim credit for the accomplishments of students who succeeded in spite of the system, not because of it. Yet when those very students ask about scholarships, she is nowhere to be found. The smile fades. The silence becomes deafening. And the dreams of talented young people fade into frustration.
Young people need to pay attention. You are being used as props in a political circus. Don’t believe me? Trace where the nation’s top ten performers over the past decade ended up. You’ll find stories of dreams dashed, potential under-developed, talent stifled, and a government that sees you as a headline, not as an investment.
Shame on this selfish government. With unprecedented oil revenues, Guyana can afford to fund overseas scholarships for its brightest students. The refusal to do so is not about money , it is about priorities. And this government’s priority is itself.
President Irfaan Ali and Minister Manickchand, Guyana’s top students deserve better than a handshake and a photo-op. They deserve the chance to prove themselves in the most demanding academic environments in the world. They deserve the same opportunities your children enjoy.
Until then, every staged ceremony, every hollow congratulation, is nothing more than a cruel performance.
