COVID-19 response
Allocation: US$3.5 million
Years: 2020-2021
Grant agent: UNICEF
Key document: Application and program document
The US$3.5 million grant supports:
- providing learning materials and additional resources to vulnerable groups in the hinterland, deep riverine and remote coastal regions, to ensure continuity of learning for those unable to access digital formats. This includes home-based learning packages, interactive radio and television lessons, pre-loaded flash drives with content suitable to different levels, bilingual alternatives for Venezuelan refugees, and guidance for teachers and parents on their use.
- increased access to online learning for vulnerable communities around the capital by providing internet infrastructure and access to online platforms, as well as devices and training for teachers and education officers to support the delivery of online learning.
- the well-being and safety of children once schools re-open through sensitization programs and media campaigns, psychosocial support, WASH programs, the provision of protective equipment in vulnerable areas, and sanitation rounds for all schools.
- an assessment on learning loss to address learning gaps from the pandemic.
In late March 2020, the UNICEF office in Guyana received a GPE grant of US$70,000 to support the Ministry of Education in planning its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Education in Guyana
In the last decade, Guyana has made important progress in improving access to education at all levels, by increasing the number of trained teachers, providing more access to interactive technology, in particular computers, and upgrading physical facilities.
Despite this progress, Guyana’s education system is still recovering from years of underinvestment and faces many challenges, including quality and equity of early childhood education services, teaching quality, and accessing reliable education data.
From 2006 to 2012, public sector allocations to education averaged 3.8% of GDP.
Guyana’s education sector plan (ESP) 2014-2018 outlines two priorities:
- Increasing learning outcomes for all levels of education and all sub-groups.
- Decreasing the differences in learning outcomes between sub-groups, especially between students in coastal and hinterland schools. The learning outcomes of primary concern are literacy and numeracy, followed by science and technology.
The plan’s outcome indicators include:
- Increasing the percentage of grade 4 students who master literacy to 50% by 2018
- Increasing the proportion of grade 6 students who earn 50% or more in core subjects to 40%
- Improving the percentage of students who pass tests in math, English and Science in public secondary schools to 60%.
The ESP adopts various strategies to address quality and equity issues, such as strengthening literacy and numeracy programs, increasing the number of trained teachers, improving the school environment, targeting of interventions to disadvantaged groups and strengthening sector governance and management.
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Latest grant
Development objective:
improve learning conditions at the nursery level in select areas; increase use of technology-assisted learning at the primary level in select areas; and improve functionality of the education management information system nationally.
Allocation:
US$7,000,000
Years:
2021
Grant agent:
WB
Utilization:
US$0
The Guyana Education Sector Program supported by a U$7 million grant is a three-year program composed of a an implementation grant of US$2.5 million and Multiplier grant of US$4.5 million.
The program supports Guyana’s Education Sector Plan 2021-2025, which seeks to improve governance and accountability, performance at all levels, as well as the efficiency of the education system, while reducing inequities.
The three main components of the program are:
- Improve learning conditions at the nursery level in select areas by
- Supporting teacher training to improve pedagogy and delivery of the new curriculum in nursery 1 and 2, to contribute to a successful transition of students from nursery to primary. This sub-component will also provide follow-up mentorship to teachers and classroom observation to measure the improvement in teaching practices ;
- Financing the acquisition and adaptation of age-appropriate learning materials in the hinterland and select riverine areas to support the rollout of the new curriculum at an early childhood level ;
- Training primary caregivers to support children’s literacy and numeracy. This activity, builds on the pilot financed by the previous GPE-funded program. The government plans to scale up these activities to other parts of the country with its own funds.
- Increase use of technology-assisted learning at the primary level in select areas. The component has two subcomponents:
- Tablet programs to support mathematics and literacy in grade 4. Tablets equipped with software will be provided to half of grade 4 students, and teachers will be trained to use the tablets and software both from a pedagogical and technical perspective.
- Smart classrooms to support learning. 10 select classrooms in grade 4, in both urban and rural areas will be equipped with smartboards, tablets and projectors. In addition, teachers will be trained to use these tools as part of their daily classes.
- Improve functionality of the education management information system nationally to support the management of the education system through better data, including:
- Supporting the development and roll out of an EMIS at the national level by financing procurement of EMIS hardware and training for school leaders, teachers at the primary and secondary level, regional education officers, and the central Planning Unit of the ministry of education.
- Supporting project management, monitoring and evaluation.
The program is partially aligned with national financial and planning systems: it will be audited by the Auditor General of Guyana and information on its implementation will be included in sector reports prepared by the ministry of education.
Grants
All amounts are in US dollars.
| Grant type | Years | Allocations | Utilization | Grant agent | |
| COVID-19 | 2020-2021 | 3,500,000 | 931,116 | UNICEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program implementation and multiplier | 2021 | 7,000,000 | 0 | WB | |
| Program implementation | 2015-2018 | 1,698,273 | 1,698,273 | WB | Completion report |
| 2004-2012 | 32,919,857 | 32,919,857 | WB | Completion report | |
| Sector plan development | 2013-2015 | 250,000 | 227,695 | WB | |
| Program development | 2020-2021 | 200,000 | 54,688 | WB | |
| 2013-2015 | 200,000 | 193,467 | WB | ||
| Total | 45,768,130 | 36,025,096 |
Data last updated: July 27, 2021
Education sector progress
The graphs below show overall progress in the education sector in Guyana, and GPE data shows the country progress on 16 indicators monitored in the GPE Results Framework.
Source: World Bank - Education Data
Data on education are compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics from official responses to surveys and from reports provided by education authorities in each country.
Last updated May 21, 2021