While the government is investing heavily in infrastructure and vocational education, a quiet technological revolution is growing in some neighbourhoods and villages in Guyana. Thanks to creative public-private partnerships, primary school children – even in rural regions – are learning to code, build and work with artificial intelligence. What role do robotics, “Learning Pods” and AI play in the education system of our western neighbour?
The drive for development in Guyana is not limited to government buildings and offices. One of the most striking examples of educational innovation from the bottom up is STEMGuyana. This initiative is a collaboration between local organisations, international companies, the Guyanese diaspora and the international community, and is making a direct impact on the workplace of the future.
“Learning Pods” for vulnerable children
STEMGuyana began with an ambitious project to bring children together for robotics lessons. With financial support from oil company Tullow Oil, the Ministry of Youth and fundraising efforts among the Guyanese diaspora (via GoFundMe), a ten-month programme was rolled out.
The objective went far beyond technology alone: children learned to think critically, collaborate and gained a considerable dose of self-confidence. In addition, the project offered free academic support and after-school care to primary school pupils. To also reach children in remote and vulnerable areas, 21 so-called “Learning Pods” were established, spread across nine different regions of the country. STEMGuyana’s Learning Pods Programme is an after-school initiative launched to address learning gaps among children. It provides educational support in physics, mathematics, English, technology, robotics and programming.
From “Robin the Robot” to IDB-Lab
The successes of this private initiative did not go unnoticed. With support from IDB–Lab, the concept was scaled up. Top students were tasked with converting the Ministry of Education’s entire primary school curriculum into digital teaching material, including interactive videos and practice questions.
To make learning attractive, children gathered in community centres and clubs. The media were also used: through the educational television programme “Robin the Robot”, thousands of children were reached at home and encouraged to take an interest in science and technology.
AI in the classroom: Pathway Online Academy
This educational method has since been further developed into a fully fledged digital platform: the Pathway Online Academy. On this secure platform – where access to external websites is strictly blocked for the child’s safety – pupils can take online lessons.
The platform makes smart use of artificial intelligence (AI) to adapt education to the learning pace of the individual pupil. However, the introduction of AI also brings challenges and discussion:
- Human factor: Not all parents are immediately convinced by digital assistants; some still strongly prefer a physical, human teacher in the classroom.
- Costs: Although the initiative began as a free community facility, parents currently pay monthly tuition fees of around $25 USD for the expanded Pathway Academy platform.
Within this private initiative, children are given the opportunity to keep pace with innovations in education without having to wait for the government. The targeted collaboration between various national and international actors makes this possible.
Barrier-free study through GOAL
Oil revenues are filtering through to society in various ways. One of the most concrete applications is the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme of the Ministry of Education.
Through this government-funded initiative, citizens across the country – from the coast to the deep interior – are given the opportunity to pursue higher education free of charge. The offering ranges from short certificates and diplomas to full bachelor’s, master’s and even doctoral degrees (PhDs) at international universities. In this way, oil money is directly converted into knowledge and sustainable opportunities for the country’s own population.
Questions
- How can Suriname create a similar “bottom-up” ecosystem, in which the diaspora, international companies and local organisations jointly transform schools and community centres into small innovation hubs, without waiting for large-scale government programmes?
- How does Suriname intend to prevent high-quality AI-supported education (such as Pathway Online Academy) from becoming a privilege for paying parents, while the “Learning Pods” were specifically intended for vulnerable children – and what role does the government see for free or subsidised digital learning platforms?
- How could Suriname use part of its natural resources (gold, oil, timber) for a similar “barrier-free” learning pathway – not only at higher vocational education/university level, but also for the early integration of AI and robotics skills in primary and secondary education, in order to bridge the gap with the region?
In the next article, we will take a closer look at financial control, environmental oversight and the mechanisms for distributing oil money fairly across Guyanese society.
Professor Dr. Franklin S. Jabini
