By Mark DaCosta- As the five-day budget debate got underway on Monday, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Coretta McDonald was among the first presenters to take the floor, delivering a pointed critique of the government’s approach to education funding. McDonald warned that despite dramatic increases in the overall national budget in recent years and repeated promises to prioritise social needs, allocations to education have remained largely stagnant. The disparity, she argued, exposes a troubling gap between the government’s rhetoric and its real commitment to developing the nation’s human capital.
Speaking as both an educator and President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), McDonald channelled the mounting frustration of Guyanese grappling with a failing education system. “Budgets are not sermons… they are instruments of governance,” she declared, cutting through what she described as hollow promises and glossy figures. While government spending continues to rise, classrooms tell a different story — crumbling facilities, scarce resources, and overburdened teachers and students. McDonald noted that from 2021 to 2025, education’s share of the national budget has stubbornly hovered at about two per cent, exposing what she said is a glaring mismatch between soaring expenditure and genuine investment in the nation’s future.
In 2021, the central government’s spending stood at an approximate $383 billion, with only $7.9 billion allocated to education. As the total budget ballooned to $1.38 trillion by 2025, the education funding only marginally rose to $29.6 billion. “These numbers demonstrate that while education spending has increased in absolute terms, it has failed to keep pace with the growth of the national budget,” McDonald stated, underscoring the growing discontent among citizens who see their future compromised.
The MP also pointed out glaring discrepancies in the quality and conditions of educational facilities. Infrastructure issues abound, with reports of schools lacking basic necessities like clean water and electricity. Parents and teachers have protested against unsafe school conditions, yet they remain largely unheard by the government. The emphasis on flashy infrastructure spending rather than on functional, practical needs has left pupils in perilous environments, far from the conducive learning spaces they require.
Furthermore, McDonald critiqued the government’s apparent misallocation of resources, saying, “the trillions… have been dumped into chocolate factories.” This metaphor poignantly illustrates her concern about wealth being concentrated among a few corrupt individuals rather than being distributed to benefit the broader population. The acknowledgment that 58 per cent of our nation’s citizens live in poverty starkly contrasts with the government’s proclamations of prosperity. McDonald reinforced that investments in education must be genuine, aimed at uplifting the masses rather than funding the lifestyles of a privileged few.
The conversation on human capital management is ever more pressing in the context of our nation’s burgeoning oil economy. McDonald highlighted the urgent need for a strategic shift in educational policy, advocating for a curriculum that informs future generations of skilled technicians and professionals required to navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving economy. She stated, “An oil-producing economy requires strong technical and vocational education, not just general instructions,” reinforcing the necessity for an educational agenda that aligns with our country’s economic realities.
Despite the government’s promises of modernisation and reform in the education sector, the Opposition’s arguments reveal an unsettling truth: that announcements of change often lack tangible measures of delivery. McDonald noted, “This is not a mystery; it is a management problem.” The reliance on teachers, who are often overworked and underappreciated, has become increasingly untenable. McDonald articulated a common sentiment, asserting that a robust education system cannot thrive if its educators are treated as an afterthought.
When comparing our country’s education funding to that of regional peers, Guyana falls short. While nations such as Barbados and Trinidad allocate 15% to 20% of their total budgets to education, our country languishes at roughly 2%. McDonald stated, “Where distribution falters, inequality deepens,” highlighting how children from disadvantaged backgrounds are often left to fend for themselves without essential educational tools, further ingrain systemic inequalities.
Throughout her impassioned speech, McDonald re-emphasised that “if education is not first, then the future will be last.” This assertion rings true within the broader context of governance. It points to a pressing need for the government to prioritise the education sector adequately; otherwise, the promises of tomorrow may fade into a distant hope. The cries from parents demanding safe schooling environments for their children underscore the sentiment that education must not only be a line item in a budget but a vital component of a national vision.
In her continuing critique of the $1.558 trillion national budget, McDonald made it clear that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s education allocations reflect not a genuine commitment to “Putting People First,” but an exercise in political optics, where hollow promises eclipse the urgent needs of the nation’s children. The parliamentarian’s passionate call for real accountability has struck a chord with many Guyanese. As the fight for educational equity continues, she warned that without placing education at the centre of national priorities, the country’s aspirations risk being reduced to little more than unattainable dreams.
