Orientation for new students commenced on Monday, August 31, and will continue through September 4 at the Turkeyen and Berbice campuses, as well as the university’s IDCE regional locations.

Orientation for continuing students will take place from September 9 to 11.

Registration remains ongoing as the university prepares to accommodate the incoming cohort.

The new-student orientation programme will be delivered in a blended format, allowing students to participate either in person at the George Walcott Lecture Theatre at the Turkeyen Campus or virtually after registering online.

Daily Registry sessions will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will be followed by faculty-specific activities organised by the university’s academic divisions. 

Students will receive registration and access information from their respective faculties and through UG’s official communication channels.

The orientation programme is designed to familiarise students with UG’s academic and administrative systems, policies, facilities, personnel and support services. 

Students enrolled in online and blended programmes will also receive guidance on using the university’s digital learning environment.

UG said the activities are intended to give students the information, connections and practical support needed to begin university life with greater confidence.

The university’s formal Ceremonial Opening for the 2026/2027 academic year is scheduled for Friday, September 4, at the Ameena & Sattaur Gafoor Multipurpose Auditorium at the Turkeyen Campus.

The day’s activities will begin at 10:00 a.m. with an open-campus experience, giving students an opportunity to meet faculty, staff and fellow students, explore the campus, learn about student clubs and societies, and participate in activities marking the start of the academic year.

The formal ceremony will begin at 2:00 p.m. and is expected to feature presentations from senior university officials, including Chair of the Transitional Management Team Professor Stafford Griffith, Registrar Dr. Nigel Gravesande, Deputy Registrar Dr. Juneann Garnett and Senior Assistant Registrar Dr. Daniella King. 

Cultural presentations by the university’s talent ambassadors are also planned.

The university said faculty members, students and their families are invited to attend the ceremonial opening, with a virtual participation option also available.

Education Minister Sonia Parag has rejected claims that some schools experienced delayed reopening as the new academic term (2026-2027) got underway Monday.

According to her, all of the country’s approximately 1,200 schools opened, although a small number have temporary arrangements in place.

Parag said about 98 per cent of schools resumed normal operations, with students and teachers reporting as expected, while construction and repair activities at a few facilities necessitated alternative arrangements.

She pointed to the Airy Hall Nursery School, where construction is being undertaken to add another level to the building.

Rather than expose students to an unsafe environment, Parag said the ministry consulted with regional officials, parents and teachers on relocating the children temporarily.

“We don’t want children to be in an unsafe environment, but we also don’t want to have disruption in the learning process,” she said.

The minister also referenced works at Mackenzie High School in Linden, which she said have generated what she described as negative narratives about the reopening of those schools.

However, Parag said the Ministry of Education, regional education officials and the Regional Education Unit have been coordinating efforts to address the outstanding works while ensuring that learning continues.

She said, “I can tell you that the Regional Education Officer and the Regional Education Unit have been working along with the Ministry of Education to make sure that we make the buildings safe, as well as students continuing the learning process.”

She urged parents and students not to be alarmed by the situation, stressing that the ministry is actively addressing the concerns.

Parag also made it clear that the maintenance programme will not end with the reopening of schools. Crews will remain engaged throughout the academic year to deal with routine repairs and emerging problems.

She noted, “Maintenance is something that all schools need.”

According to the minister, the schools were prepared to receive students at the start of the term, but maintenance teams will continue responding to issues ranging from broken toilets and doorknobs to leaking roofs.

“While we have our schools in a prepared state for reopening today [Monday], we also have maintenance crews that will be working throughout the year,” she said.

Parag appealed to parents, teachers and other stakeholders to exercise patience and cooperate with the ministry as it continues improving school facilities.

“So, I say to the nation, just have a bit of patience with us,” she said, while assuring that the ministry is working to ensure schools have the resources needed to provide a suitable environment for both students and teachers.

The minister assured that the ministry will continue to work with regional authorities and other stakeholders to ensure schools remain safe, functional and conducive to learning throughout the academic year.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, announced that the Council of Legal Education (CLE) of the West Indies will hold its annual general meeting in Guyana this week.

According to Nandlall, the meeting will begin on Thursday, September 3, and end on Saturday. He said the gathering will bring together regional legal education officials, including principals and administrators of the region’s law schools, heads of judiciaries from CARICOM member states, and representatives of bar associations across the Caribbean.

As part of the meeting, a sod-turning ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at the proposed site of Guyana’s law school at the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen Campus.

Nandlall said the new institution is expected to become the Council of Legal Education’s newest law school.

Members of the Council of Legal Education and invited guests are expected to attend the ceremony, which Nandlall described as the symbolic turning of the sod at the site where the law school is intended to be constructed.

The Attorney General also updated the public on the construction process, saying a tender had been issued for the design of the law school.

He said several bids were received and are currently with the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB). The results will be known when NPTAB opens the bids.

The planned law school is expected to mark a significant development for legal education in Guyana, which has long depended on regional institutions for professional legal training.

The Council of Legal Education currently includes the Hugh Wooding Law School, the Norman Manley Law School and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas.

For nearly three decades, Guyana has tried to establish a law school within its jurisdiction, as law students are forced to attend the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad. However, only the 25 top law students from Guyana are allowed into the programme each year.

Moreover, the high cost of living in Trinidad has deterred many people from pursuing a legal career; in response, the Guyana Government now offers limited fully funded scholarships to Hugh Wooding Law School.

The partnerships pair the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) with Farfan & Mendes, while connecting the Essequibo Technical Institute (ETI) with the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School (AWHWAES) and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

Under the first agreement, Farfan & Mendes will offer GITC students work placements, safety gear, tools and specialised training sessions starting in the 2026-2027 school year. Students on placement will receive insurance coverage and a daily stipend, five days a week.

Explaining the rationale, Deputy Chief Education Officer for Technical Education, Dr Ritesh Tularam, said private sector partnerships are vital to give trainees direct access to “modern facilities, technologies, methodologies and hands-on experiences that complement their institutional training.”

Farfan & Mendes Human Resources Manager, Glivann Cameron, welcomed the collaboration, noting the firm’s long-standing connection with technical schools. “We have seen first-hand the quality of graduates entering the workforce, with some former technical institute students remaining in our employment for as long as 20 years,” Ms Cameron said.

The second deal establishes a 12-month aircraft maintenance foundation program leading to a Level 1 Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ). Training will take place at the AWHWAES campus in Ogle and ETI satellite sites in Essequibo, with BIT funding AWHWAES to supply tools, equipment and study materials.

“The Ministry of Education continues to ensure that these kinds of partnerships and collaborations are realisable,” Dr Tularam said, noting that the aim is to ensure students have access to training that prepares them for employment.

Speaking on his weekly programme, Issues in the News, Nandlall pointed to the performance of the top CSEC student from Tagore Memorial Secondary School in Berbice, who wrote 27 subjects and secured 26 Grade Ones and one Grade Two.

He described the results as remarkable, noting that Guyana has consistently produced top-performing students at the Caribbean examination level.

“What I think is most significant is where these students are drawn from,” Nandlall said, as he reflected on how top academic performances were once concentrated mainly among a few Georgetown schools.

The Attorney General said that when he attended secondary school in the 1980s, excellent results were usually associated with institutions such as Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School and St. Stanislaus College. He said students from rural schools were not generally seen producing the kind of national and regional results now being recorded.

Nandlall argued that the difference today is the more equitable distribution of educational resources across Guyana.

“Bright children are right across Guyana and not in one or two selected or selective schools,” he said.

He said schools in rural areas previously suffered because resources were skewed toward urban centres and a small group of established schools. According to Nandlall, that imbalance limited opportunities for children outside Georgetown.

The Attorney General said the rise of schools such as Tagore Memorial, Anna Regina Multilateral, Leonora Secondary, Annandale Secondary and Rosignol Secondary shows that academic excellence is no longer confined to the capital city.

He said it would have been “unthinkable” decades ago for a student from Tagore Memorial to top Guyana, and possibly the Caribbean, at CSEC.

Nandlall said the results are not accidental, but the outcome of “deliberate, programmatic planning and investment” aimed at giving every child, regardless of location, a fair chance to pursue their dreams.

“These results that you are seeing here is as a result of deliberate, programmatic planning and investment,” he said.

While acknowledging that there is still work to be done, particularly in some subject areas, Nandlall said the current spread of high performers marks a major shift from the education system of earlier decades.

He also said Guyana has moved from a period when some children were denied secondary school placement because there were not enough spaces, to a system of universal secondary education.

According to Nandlall, the improved results from rural and outlying schools reflect long-term investment in education and a policy approach focused on giving children equal access to quality learning opportunities.

“We are achieving what we have set out to achieve,” he said, adding that the aim is to ensure children have equal access to high-quality education.
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Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain disclosed the preliminary results on Tuesday, as he highlighted several interventions being used by the Ministry of Education to improve students’ performance in the subject.

“Our math result this year is 34.5 per cent. I want you to keep that figure in mind,” Hussain said.

Among the interventions is the “Maths Tents” programme, through which experienced teachers in Georgetown provided virtual lessons to students in hinterland communities. Some 17 classes benefited, with textbooks, calculators, geometry sets and other learning materials also provided.

Several schools subsequently recorded significant improvements in Mathematics. Belladrum Secondary moved from a zero per cent pass rate to 81.49 per cent, while Fort Wellington Secondary increased from five per cent to 82.15 per cent. Bartica Secondary recorded a 57 per cent improvement, while South Ruimveldt Secondary moved from eight per cent to 60 per cent.

Hussain said the ministry is now assessing whether participation in the programme contributed directly to the improved results.

“We are now correlating attendance at the ‘Maths Tents’ to the results to see how far it has gone,” he said.

The ministry is also examining the results of CXC’s modular approach to Mathematics, which was piloted at four schools and allows students to complete the subject in three modules instead of sitting the entire examination at once.

All four schools performed above the national pass rate. Aurora Secondary recorded 88 per cent, Bygeval Secondary 100 per cent, Richard Ishmael Secondary 87 per cent and St Ignatius Secondary 71 per cent. Collectively, the schools recorded a pass rate of about 90 per cent.

Meanwhile, Hussain reported that 23 of the 35 subjects offered at CSEC recorded improved performances this year, while 12 declined. Among those showing improvements were Additional Mathematics, Agricultural Science, Chemistry, English, French, Social Studies, Spanish and Technical Drawing.

The Ministry of Education is expected to continue assessing the various interventions as it works to improve Mathematics performance nationally.

It is the first cohort of the Ministry of Health’s Professional Nursing Hybrid Training Programme, marking a significant milestone in advancing nursing education and healthcare delivery in Guyana.

The three-year program was designed to provide aspiring nurses with a flexible, competency-based learning experience through a blended approach that combines online theoretical instruction with face-to-face practical and clinical training.

The program equips graduates with the knowledge, clinical skills, and professional competencies needed to deliver safe, high-quality, patient-centered care across the country’s health system.

According to Director of Prisons Nicklon Elliot, the new skills of the prison officers will improve the healthcare services provided to the prison population.

The partnership also recognizes the potential of Guyana’s rich culinary heritage, including breadfruit, seasonal fruits, and other local produce, to contribute to the country’s growing tourism and hospitality sectors.

The engagement was attended by the Principal of the Carnegie School of Home Economics, Dr. Sharmaine Marshall ; Mrs. Omadele George, Chief Executive Officer of Herdmanston Lodge; Mr. Carlos Eduardo Achong Pinto, General Manager of Aiden by Best Western Georgetown Guyana; and Her Excellency Gale Miller Garnett, High Commissioner of Belize to Guyana.

Through cultural diplomacy and institutional collaboration, Guyanese and Colombian traditions can be shared, celebrated, and transformed into new opportunities for students, communities, and the wider hospitality industry.

The Ministry of Education, through the Carnegie School of Home Economics, is pleased to support this initiative and looks forward to further collaboration with the Embassy of Colombia.

In a statement on Thursday, CXC Director of Operations Nicole Manning said the changes are aimed at ensuring students are assessed on their own knowledge and abilities while preserving the value of CXC qualifications.

“For decades, the SBA has been a distinctive feature of CXC’s examinations. It was designed with a clear and noble purpose to give students the opportunity to demonstrate what they know and what they can do over time,” Manning said.

However, she noted that the widespread availability of AI has placed the traditional SBA system under “serious strain.”

“When AI is used to produce an SBA that is submitted as a student’s own original effort, we can no longer be certain whose work we are assessing. And when we cannot be certain of that, the integrity of the qualification itself is placed at risk,” she explained.

Manning stressed that CXC is not opposed to the responsible use of AI but believes students must ultimately demonstrate their competence under controlled examination conditions.

Under the new framework, practical subjects such as Agricultural Science, Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education, Technical Drawing, and Food, Nutrition and Health will continue to use SBAs, with stronger moderation measures.

For non-practical subjects, including Mathematics, English, Caribbean History, Social Studies and Principles of Business, the traditional SBA will be replaced by Paper 032, an assessment conducted under examination conditions.

Candidates will receive their assessment topics approximately one month before the examination and will be allowed to bring reference notes into the examination room.

According to Manning, the revised approach preserves the benefits of extended assessment while restoring confidence in the authenticity of students’ work.

She said the reforms follow extensive consultations across CXC’s 21 participating territories involving teachers, principals, curriculum officers, local registrars and ministries of education.

“We surveyed close to 2,400 educators across the region. Of these, 77% indicated support for this reform in CSEC and 76% in CAPE. The Caribbean education system has spoken and CXC has listened and continues to listen,” she stated.

The changes will take effect for CAPE candidates in the May/June 2027 examination session for non-practical subjects.

For CSEC, schools will be allowed to choose either the traditional SBA or Paper 032 in 2027, with full implementation of the new system beginning in 2028.

Manning also assured students who have already completed SBAs that their scores will remain transferable under the existing two-year rule, while Paper 032 scores will receive the same treatment going forward.

She said CXC will support teachers throughout the transition by providing guidance through frequently asked questions, webinars and assistance from local registrars.

“Reforming the CXC SBA is about making sure that what you are recognized for you have truly learned,” Manning said. “Every decision we make begins with a commitment to ensure that the CXC certificate your child receives is worth exactly what it represents.”