Guyana’s Youth Challenge and the Technology Opportunity

Aug 17, 2025 Features / Columnists, News

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By Karen Abrams MBA, AA, Doctoral Candidate

Kaieteur News – Around the world, research shows a clear link between high school graduation and national development. Countries with higher graduation rates consistently enjoy stronger economic growth, lower poverty, and more stable societies (Murnane, 2013). But the research also indicates that the core issue is not just about quantity, the quality of education; the skills students actually master, matters even more than years of schooling (Hanushek & Woessmann, 2012). This global reality should sound an alarm for Guyana, where more than half of our students never finish school, and where many who do graduate still struggle with basic literacy and numeracy. In the middle of one of the fastest-growing oil economies in the world, that gap between what our young people know and what the economy demands is a flashing red light, to which I know the government is paying attention and which more parents and the private sector cannot afford to ignore.

Improving math and literacy performance is the foundation of academic improvement, but this does not happen by accident. It requires carefully designed, long-term programmes that build skills step by step. At STEMGuyana for example, we’ve learned that regardless of a student’s grade level, success in Math begins with the basics, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, of whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. Without that foundation, learning advanced concepts is nearly impossible. Our children can learn, but for those who are grades behind in Math, even mastering multiplication tables, something many of us once took for granted, is a significant challenge and one that takes weeks of intentional focus to overcome.

And we have to be honest about today’s reality; our students are growing up in a world of constant stimulation from television, computers, and video games. Their attention spans are shaped by rapid feedback and high engagement. This isn’t a complaint, it’s a fact, and it means our teaching methods must evolve. We cannot rely on yesterday’s strategies and expect tomorrow’s results.

But what about the early school leavers? The Board of Industrial Training (BIT) has made progress in preparing many of these young people for trades that do not require a high school diploma, and the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) provides another pathway. Still, too many of our young people end up in low-skilled, low-wage service and construction jobs. These options have value, but I have always maintained that our young people should be trained to lead and to qualify for higher-paid roles here at home. Low-wage, unskilled jobs should be left to immigrant labour. Achieving this will not happen overnight. It requires commitment and a properly funded plan to prepare all of our young people for excellence, whether they choose the academic or the technical route. After all, the best-paying technical jobs today demand computer skills, solid numeracy, and strong reading ability.

Additionally, we must support our bright early leavers who want a true second chance, as well as young parents in their 20s, 30s, and even 40s who dream of returning to academics, finishing high school and pursuing university. We must recognize that many adults have to begin again at a third or fourth-grade level in math and reading and we should remove the shame and deal with the challenge to make this happen. At Pathway Online Academy, for example, we meet learners exactly where they are, guiding them from basic literacy and numeracy, all the way to CSEC preparation. These are lives once written off that, with the right investment, can be transformed into national assets.

The Ministry of Education’s renewed focus on literacy for enrolled students is a welcome and critical step. Literacy is the foundation for all learning, and I have called for this emphasis for years. Literacy remains an important piece of the larger puzzle.

We must also confront the twin challenges of youth unemployment and underemployment, which affect communities across Guyana. Too many young people must leave their villages in search of opportunity, disrupting families, draining talent, and leaving children vulnerable. Our development plans, no matter which party leads, must create opportunities for education, skills growth, and jobs in the regions where people live. We need teachers, nurses, engineers, doctors, police officers, and entrepreneurs to learn, improve, and advance their careers without leaving their home communities. That requires deliberate investment in both human capital and regional economic growth.

And here is where Guyana’s moment in history meets the promise of new technologies. In the past, it could take decades to build the physical infrastructure that connected people to opportunity. Today, digital tools can help us leapfrog those delays, if we are bold enough to use them.

In agriculture, AI-powered tools can forecast weather, manage pests, and boost yields without waiting for experts from the capital. We should have a farmer’s night school programme to upskill farmers with the knowledge they need to embrace technology, lower farm expenses and increase farm yields. In infrastructure, drones and AI-based project management can track roads, bridges, and drainage projects in real time, reducing delays and corruption.

In education, AI tutors can give every student a personalized learning path, helping them catch up in math or reading at their own pace. In healthcare, telemedicine which is already being implemented and AI-assisted diagnostics can bring specialist care to rural clinics without the long, costly trips to the city.

But technology alone will not save us. Its power depends on the vision, planning, and leadership behind it. We need our most innovative minds, our most committed educators, our most determined community leaders, and our private sector partners working together.  This is the time for a National Youth and Technology Agenda; a bold, coordinated strategy linking education reform, skills training, and digital transformation directly to job creation in every region of Guyana. If we get this right, we will do more than create jobs. We will give our youth and adult learners dignity, hope, and purpose through meaningful work in the communities they call home. We will turn today’s demographic challenge into tomorrow’s national advantage, and ensure that in this new oil economy, our people are not bystanders but builders, leaders, and innovators.

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• graduation, Karen Abrams, national development, technology, Youth Challenge

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