Education advocate and doctoral candidate Karen Abrams is calling for Guyana to confront and correct deep-rooted structural weaknesses in its education system before accelerating the rollout of artificial intelligence and other digital learning tools in schools, warning that technological expansion without a stable academic foundation risks widening existing learning gaps rather than closing them.
Abrams made the call in an opinion article titled “Before We Digitise, We Must Stabilise,” published in Kaieteur News, where she cautioned that technological innovation must be built on a stable educational foundation.
Abrams, who is the Founder and Executive Director of STEMGuyana, has been pioneering a national focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as critical to ensuring Guyana’s competitiveness in the 21st-century economy. Through STEMGuyana’s programmes, she works to educate children, parents and teachers in the use of artificial intelligence and other information technology for self and national development.
“There is understandable excitement around artificial intelligence in education,” Abrams wrote in the article. “Around the world, companies are promising personalised tutors, instant feedback, and adaptive learning systems that can accelerate academic progress. The vision is attractive. Every child supported. Every gap identified. Every lesson tailored.”
However, she stressed that Guyana must first address deeper structural issues affecting many children.
“Innovation must sit on a foundation. And in Guyana, we must confront a difficult truth: for too many of our children, that foundation is not yet secure,” Abrams stated.
Supporting Abrams’ content is data by education analysts who noted that learning outcomes and foundational skills remain uneven when compared with stronger-performing systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. International development reviews have pointed to gaps in literacy and numeracy as well as disparities between coastal and hinterland regions, reinforcing concerns that access alone does not guarantee quality learning outcomes.
A recent World Bank Report suggests that while access to schooling in Guyana is relatively strong, the quality of learning—particularly foundational skills—remains an area requiring sustained investment and reform.
In the article, Abrams highlighted early childhood nutrition as one of the major barriers to learning, noting that national data show close to one in ten children under five are moderately or severely underweight and approximately 12 percent are stunted. She added that the problem is particularly acute in Regions 7, 8 and 9 where many Indigenous families live.
“Research across developing economies is consistent. Early childhood malnutrition can reduce cognitive development and is associated with a 5 to 10 percent reduction in lifetime earnings. A child who begins school hungry begins already behind,” she wrote.
Abrams also pointed to gaps in early childhood education access, noting that nearly 47 percent of children of pre-primary age in Region 2 are not enrolled in nursery education. She said the figure stands at 35 percent in Region 1 and 34 percent in Region 7.
“When these children enter Grade 1, if they enter, many do so without school readiness skills,” Abrams said, adding that language barriers also affect many Indigenous students since eight Indigenous languages are spoken across interior regions while English remains the sole language of instruction.
“No software platform, no matter how sophisticated, can compensate for hunger, language barriers, or the absence of early childhood preparation. Technology can enhance learning. It cannot replace fundamentals,” she wrote.
Abrams also addressed the role of families in educational outcomes, noting that economic pressures often limit parents’ ability to assist their children academically.
“A mother in Mahdia or Lethem who did not complete secondary school cannot easily assist with algebra or composition structure. Not because she does not care, but because she was not afforded the same opportunity,” Abrams stated.
She argued that families require sustained support, including school feeding programmes, adequate cash grants, guidance counsellors and after-school programmes to help keep students engaged.
The article also warned that Guyana’s rapidly expanding economy heightens the need for stronger foundational education. With economic growth driven by oil and gas development, infrastructure expansion and foreign investment, Abrams said competition in the labour market is intensifying.
“If our young people do not strengthen their fundamentals in mathematics, literacy, science and critical thinking, they risk being confined to the lowest tiers of the labour market, precisely the segments under the greatest pressure,” she wrote.
Abrams also raised concerns about infrastructure readiness for digital education initiatives, noting that some nursery and primary schools lack reliable electricity while internet connectivity outside urban areas remains uneven.
“Digital tools require electricity. They require stable internet. They require maintenance capacity and trained staff. Without these, tablets become storage devices. Platforms become inaccessible. Investments lose impact,” she warned.
While supporting the integration of technology in education, Abrams maintained that digital innovation must follow improvements in basic systems.
“Artificial intelligence, adaptive learning systems and digital platforms can be powerful accelerators,” she said. “But technology must sit on stable ground.”
She concluded by emphasising that Guyana’s long-term prosperity depends on strengthening educational foundations.
“Before we digitise, we must stabilise. Before we automate, we must educate. And before we promise transformation, we must secure the foundation on which it rests.”
