A total of 183.6 billion has been allocated to the education sector.

The increased funding is aimed at modernising the education system to meet the growing demand for a skilled workforce, while empowering citizens to take advantage of opportunities for national development.

Of the $183.6 billion allocation, $24.3 billion has been earmarked for the completion of more than 40 schools, ongoing rehabilitation and maintenance of existing facilities, and advance works on student dormitories in several hinterland communities.

Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh said that in 2025, government spent over $2 billion on the procurement of textbooks. This year, $2.3 billion has been budgeted to replenish textbooks, workbooks, and reading materials across all levels of the education system.

“The $50,000 per child Because We Care cash grant together with the $5,000 uniform grant benefited all public and private school children in 2025 at a cost of $11.7 billion. The distribution of these grants will continue in 2026,” he affirmed.

Additionally, government will again cover the cost for up to eight subjects for every student sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) in both public and private schools.

The sum of $7 billion has also been allocated to continue the National School Feeding Programme.

Meanwhile, government has set aside $14.5 billion for the University of Guyana. Dr. Singh announced that more than $3 billion in student loans has already been written off for over 4,000 persons, eliminating a major financial burden, and said the loan write-off programme will continue in 2026.

Since the abolition of tuition fees at the University of Guyana, applications for higher education have increased significantly, rising to more than 26,000 for the 2025–2026 academic year, compared with 17,800 in the previous period.

“In recognition of the high demand for access to particular UG programmes, especially engineering and the medical sciences, and in keeping with our rapidly growing need for skilled personnel in these areas, we will be expanding access to medicine and engineering programmes in Regions 2, 3 and 6 at a cost of $1 billion in 2026. Already 130 students have registered for the engineering programmes. In order to finance its ongoing and expanded operations, including this new initiative,”

Technical and Vocational Education and Training, (TVET), will continue to be aligned with labour-force needs. With construction set to begin on a practical instructional centre in Mahdia, with $100 million budgeted for the project.

In 2025, government spent $2.5 billion on TVET programmes, with a further $2.5 billion allocated to expand access in 2026.