Abrams Raises Concerns Over Lack of Collaboration in Guyana

A pointed assessment from Guyanese educator , Dr. Karen Abrams, in her April 12, 2026 column “Failure to collaborate may be to Guyana’s undoing,” is placing a spotlight on what she describes as a deeply ingrained national weakness—one that could erode Guyana’s development gains even amid unprecedented oil wealth.

In the column, Abrams, Founder and Executive Director of STEMGuyana, argues that a persistent failure to collaborate across society—from classrooms to politics—has created a culture where dominance often replaces cooperation, with far-reaching consequences.

“Everywhere you go in Guyana, you see examples of complete disdain for collaboration,” she wrote. “Too often, our instinct is not to work with others, but to dominate them.”

She frames this tendency as both “a cultural flaw and a development problem,” warning that countries unable to align people and institutions around shared goals risk stagnation despite economic growth.

Referencing the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Abrams emphasised that collaboration is a practical skill grounded in communication, shared responsibility, and conflict resolution. “It is how serious societies solve difficult problems,” she noted. The OECD, an international body that promotes economic growth and improved living standards, provides research, data, and policy guidance to help governments strengthen areas such as education, governance, and trade.

However, Abrams argues that Guyana’s socialisation process often begins in opposition to this ideal. From early schooling, children are conditioned to prioritise rank over cooperation. “Beat the other child. Bring first. Get into Queen’s College,” she wrote, describing an environment where outperforming peers takes precedence over developing teamwork, confidence, and character.

She also raised concerns about disciplinary practices in schools, including public humiliation and ridicule. Recounting a student’s experience, Abrams highlighted how a simple classroom mistake led a teacher to ask whether the child was “stupid,” underscoring the potential long-term impact on self-worth and learning.

“This is not an isolated story,” she said, adding that such practices foster fear, insecurity, and an unhealthy fixation on status rather than resilience and collaboration.

According to Abrams, the long-term effects are evident in broader society. “We see streams of disrespect, bullying, and domination in places where diplomacy, collaboration, and finding common ground would be far more useful,” she wrote. “In Guyana, collaboration too often feels to people like losing.”

She argues that this mindset is particularly damaging at a time when Guyana is seeking rapid development. Drawing on insights highlighted by the Harvard Business Review, Abrams pointed to the concept of “collaborative advantage,” where organizations—and by extension countries—gain strength by aligning talent and resources rather than competing internally.

“Guyana is too small for a national strategy of domination,” she warned.

Abrams also cautioned that systems built on control and exclusion may secure short-term authority but weaken long-term national capacity. “When power is used to disenfranchise bright people… those people do not simply vanish. They regroup… They prevail elsewhere,” she wrote, pointing to the risk of continued talent loss and inefficiency.

Global institutions such as UNESCO and the World Economic Forum have identified collaboration, communication, and adaptability as essential skills for modern economies. Abrams argues that Guyana risks falling behind if its systems continue to reward hierarchy and competition over these competencies.

While acknowledging that some leaders—particularly in the private sector—are embracing more collaborative approaches, she said these examples remain too limited to shift the national culture.

For Abrams, meaningful change requires embedding collaboration into the fabric of society. “These cannot remain words in speeches, workshops, and school banners,” she said, urging reforms in education, governance, and institutional behavior.

Without such change, she warned, Guyana risks squandering both human potential and economic opportunity.

“We simply must build a Guyana in which our children can thrive without being trained to crush one another first,” Abrams concluded. “Because in the end, the countries that rise are not always the ones with the most resources. They are often the ones that encourage citizens to work together.”