Students who sat 2025 CSEC, CAPE exams to receive full reimbursement for up to eight subjects

Students who sat the 2025 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) are set to receive full reimbursement for up to eight subjects.

The announcement came as the President addressed attendees at the commissioning of the newly rebuilt Christ Church Secondary School on Camp and Middle Streets, Georgetown.

The initiative, which will benefit both public and private school students, is part of the government’s commitment to education access and equity — with over $700 million allocated to support this effort.

“You can look for the expansion of our CXC grants, the eight subjects CXC that we’ll pay for. And I want today to make it very clear, that those students who paid for this year’s CXC [CSEC], that you will have your full reimbursement for the eight subjects,” the President stated.

The Christ Church Secondary School was destroyed by fire in January 2023.

Just over two years later, the school has been rebuilt — stronger, safer, and fully outfitted to meet the needs of modern secondary education.

Constructed at a cost of $940.7 million, the three-storey facility boasts 20 classrooms, eight labs, including fully equipped science and IT labs, a modern auditorium, and fire-resistant features designed to ensure long-term resilience.

But it was not just infrastructure on display — the commissioning ceremony also highlighted the progress being made in teacher training across Guyana.

Since 2020, the number of trained in-service teachers has grown from 10,000 to over 14,000, with another 2,000 currently enrolled in professional development programmes.

In 2023 alone, nearly 1,800 teachers graduated from the Cyril Potter College of Education, including a significant increase from hinterland communities — a sign of the country’s continued investment in human capital.

Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, noted that it is not only about building schools, but ensuring that this is backed by trained teachers.

“In Georgetown alone, we have moved the percentage of trained teachers–in 2020 it was 73 per cent, in 2025 it is 98.5 per cent of your teachers standing in front of children in Georgetown who are trained or are in training. The 1.5 per cent are people who just got hired and they’re now going into training college,” she said.

The minister added that over the last four years, the government has supplied over $1.4 billion in textbooks to the children of Georgetown, with over 581,000 textbooks going to children in and around Georgetown.