‘Fluff Budget” vs “Future Investment” – McDonald and Parag clash over Education priorities

Feb 04, 2026 News

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By Allyiah Allicock

(Kaieteur News) – A heated exchange unfolded in Parliament on Monday as APNU Member of Parliament and Guyana Teachers’ Union President Coretta McDonald accused the government of neglecting classroom realities despite rising education budgets, while Education Minister, Sonia Parag defended the administration’s long-term investment strategy and commitment to universal access.

Speaking during the debate on the 2026 National Budget, McDonald argued that although education spending has increased in absolute terms, the sector has received just over two percent of total central government expenditure since 2021, a level she said reflects a lack of true prioritisation. “Mr. Speaker, 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. The result is that education is not being prioritised, despite repeated claims to the contrary,” she stated.

According to McDonald, “with all the trillions and budget theme after budget theme, our children are still suffering.”  Highlighting some of the issues children, teachers and schools have faced, McDonald noted of the reports of “stale food,” the filthy state of classrooms, the pigeon, bat and mosquito infestations, the failing infrastructure of schools among other challenges.

The MP also noted that teachers are crying out for better salaries, safe working environments, and educational policies that are geared to mould children, which are “failed promises and copy and paste policies.” She noted that while the government announce modernisation of the sector, operational basics still fail too often. These issues which still persist, McDonald said that “if education is not first, then the future will be last.”

The Opposition MP detailed that the capital expenditure rose from approximately $123.6 billion in 2021 to over $400 billion by 2024, with transport and public works accounting for the single largest increases year after year. Infrastructure, she revealed has become the most visible symbol of education investment. She said that “visibility, however, is not functionality.”

“A building is not a school simply because it exists. It becomes a school when it is staffed, maintained, equipped, safe, and integrated into a learning system. Public discussions have repeatedly highlighted situations where physical expansion has not translated into improved learning environments. This, Mr. Speaker, is a sick pattern. And patterns demand correction, not celebration,” she disclosed.

McDonald further stated that budget credibility, therefore, depends not only on what is procured, but on what reliably reaches the classrooms.  “Budgets are growing, Mr. Speaker, but classrooms are not improving at the same pace. Mr. Speaker, modern Caribbean education systems are centred on smart classrooms, universal students’ access to laptops or tablets, strong digital connectivity, and well-paid, professionally supported teachers. These investments are deeply linked to improved learning outcomes,” she related.

In Guyana, however, she noted that too many schools still lack reliable electricity, water, sanitation, and basic maintenance. “One cannot credibly speak of digital transformation when foundational learning conditions remain unmet. Mr. Speaker, increased spending alone has not translated into improved educational outcomes. If it had to be, we would have seen cleaner classrooms, safer learning environments, improved attendance, stronger discipline, and better examination results. Instead, the same structural problems persist year after year despite regular allocations. Mr. Speaker, Guyana is now an oil-producing state, and this reality demands a strategic shift in education policy,” she argued.

McDonald added that until education is treated merely not as a line item but as the central pillar of national development, increased budgets will continue to yield disappointing outcomes. “Budgets must deliver results, not just reassurance,” she noted.

Speaking on this year budget, she said “it set out to continue its oppression of the ordinary Guyanese. I said to you on that side of the house, you are not putting people first. You are continuing to have your knees on the necks of ordinary people.” This budget she described highlights a national disgrace for this nation in the eyes of the Caribbean colleagues, stating that it “is about fluff, it’s short, and it definitely is not putting people first.” On that note, she mentioned, the Opposition will not support this budget in its form.

Universal access 

Meanwhile, in defending her government’s budgetary allocations, Minister of Education, Sonia Parag said that “Expenditure is based on every fiscal year, we have a five-year plan, and every fiscal year we invest money in that space to ensure that we will be able to deliver on our policies and our programs, beginning with 2026 for the next five years.”

Parag stated that the PPP/C government over the last five years has worked to ensure universal access to education, and this will continue from the 2026 budget. Speaking about access, she mentioned that her government since resuming office has advanced access to education through the construction of 66 nursery schools, 34 primary schools, and 33 secondary schools, while major rehabilitation and expansion was done to 45 nurseries, 61 primaries and 32 secondary schools across the country.

She added that more projects will be executed, which will see a significant amount being advanced in the hinterland villages. During her presentation the minister also addressed a number of issues flagged by the Opposition members about the sector, noting that these have been resolved. For example, she noted on the issue of teachers’ salary increase, Parag mentioned that there is a multi-year agreement that the government sat down with the GTU which was agreed upon, and that is the collective agreement on the percentages for the years 2024,2025 and 2026 which is still in existence.

Turning her attention to school infrastructure, the minister recalled when the BV Primary School was facing some issues, which she said she and other officials went to address. “We go and we fix the issues from the Ministry of Education, because that’s what the Government of Guyana does. That’s what the Progressive Party Civic does, we go and we fix issues once we know of them. Now you have schools, you have infrastructure, and I’m standing here, and I’m not going to deny that there are issues with the infrastructure. They have issues with the infrastructure. I’m not going to deny that. But here is what Mister Speaker, once the issue is reported to us, we will go and fix it,” Parag argued.

The education minister also highlighted that the learning materials and other interventions that are being implemented in schools are providing the results. For example, she noted that the mathematics intervention which was introduced under the former minister has since seen the pass rate at the CXC level being increased by some 5%.  Additionally, touching on funding for school cash grants, Parag called out McDonald and the APNU/AFC regime for taking it away from families. Noting that her government has since restored and increased the grants, Parag responded that “we are government that doesn’t take away, we add value to people’s lives.”

In highlighting other investments, the government has made to ensure that there is improved quality education, Minister Parag on Monday said, “So Mr. Speaker, education is poised to continue its progress, we will see the outcomes for our children, we will see the development for our children, we will see the improvements for our teacher, the improvements for our infrastructure, and we will also see we will also see safer environment in which it will be conducive for them to learn.”

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• 2026 National Budget, Coretta McDonald., education, priorities, Sonia Parag

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