By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News |
While welcoming the government’s decision to increase the Because We Care cash grant to $60,000, opposition Members of Parliament from both the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party have sharply criticised Budget 2026 for failing to introduce meaningful measures to address the rising cost of living and inflationary pressures facing ordinary Guyanese.
Among the most vocal critics is Coretta McDonald, a Member of Parliament representing APNU, who expressed deep concern over what she described as continued underinvestment in Guyana’s premier tertiary institution, the University of Guyana.
“What I found alarming is that our very own university and premier tertiary institution again is running second place,” McDonald said.
Under the 2026 National Budget, the University of Guyana has been allocated $14.5 billion — approximately $6.6 billion less than the amount requested by the institution. While the allocation represents about a $1 billion increase over 2025, McDonald argued it remains inadequate to meet the university’s expanding academic and infrastructural needs.
During the budget presentation, Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance Ashni Singh said the subvention would support expanded operations at the university, including new initiatives to widen access to medicine and engineering programmes in Regions Two, Three and Six.
However, McDonald, an experienced educator, questioned the equity and long-term impact of these funding decisions. She maintained that the University of Guyana should serve as the cornerstone of national development, research and innovation, but suggested that allocations appear to be influenced by favoritism rather than strategic national priorities.
“GOAL, which is family, friends and favourites oriented, is again having a higher allocation as against what is budgeted for the University of Guyana,” she contended.
Critics argue that such funding patterns risk undermining the quality of tertiary education, limiting research opportunities, and weakening Guyana’s intellectual capital. They warn that inadequate investment in the country’s primary university could exacerbate inequality and constrain long-term socioeconomic development.
Adding to the criticism, Toshana Famey-Corlette, a Member of Parliament from the We Invest in Nationhood party, said the government’s priorities appear misplaced. She argued that allocating significant resources to scholarships for overseas universities, while local institutions struggle, is disproportionate and short-sighted.
Famey-Corlette suggested that greater emphasis should be placed on strengthening the University of Guyana’s online and distance learning infrastructure, which could expand access and build local capacity more sustainably.
The government has also announced that more than $3 billion in student loans have been written off for over 4,000 individuals, with plans to continue the loan write-off programme in 2026. While welcomed by beneficiaries, opposition MPs argue that this measure alone does not offset broader structural weaknesses in education financing.
Overall, the education sector has been allocated $183.6 billion in Budget 2026 — a marginal increase from the $183.5 billion provided in 2025. Opposition figures insist that, despite the headline figures, the budget lacks a coherent strategy to cushion citizens against inflation and to invest decisively in human capital.
As debate over Budget 2026 continues, APNU and WIN MPs maintain that without stronger cost-of-living relief and a clearer focus on education and social development, the government’s “Putting People First” theme risks remaining more slogan than substance.
