President Ali commissions $356.5M Practical Instruction Centre in Region Nine

Underscoring the critical need for technically skilled workers in an ever-evolving economy, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali urged residents of Region Nine to embrace vocational education as a pathway to sustainable employment and success.

The head of state made this call while delivering the keynote address at the commissioning of a brand new $356.5 million Practical Instruction Centre (PIC) at the St Ignatius Secondary School.

“Technical education is not diminished education…technical education is a more practical orientation of what the country needs, what the world needs. By no ways or means are you lesser if you are in technical education,” he pointed out.

The PIC in Region Nine is one of six new Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres that are being constructed across the country, providing more opportunities for this form of training nationwide.

In this regard, the president said that for Guyana to continue along its current trajectory, the country will require even more forms of innovation, and he affirmed that technical education is where the seeds are planted.

“When you look around the world, you would see many technically-oriented persons in business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Because once you’re technically oriented, you are naturally innovative,” he posited.

Meanwhile, President Ali congratulated the Amerindian people for their determination to contribute meaningfully to nation-building.

Boasting that 60 per cent of the intake of nursing students are from Amerindian communities and the increase of indigenous people in the joint services, the head of state commended the residents for excelling in almost every area.

“We invested in giving you the opportunity, and you are showing Guyana that once you have the opportunity, you can soar, you can rise, and you can be the best you can be,” the president pointed out.

As part of a new policy recently launched by the Ministry of Education, a single autonomous national TVET institution will be established to ensure improved coordination, management, planning and regulation among practical instruction centres.

A total of $2.6 billion was allocated in the 2025 national budget to enhance the delivery of TVET programmes nationwide.