Guyana Business Journal
Editorial | May 8, 2025
Civics Education: A Necessary Step Forward, Politics Aside
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo’s announcement at this week’s press conference that Civics will be made compulsory in Guyanese schools is, in principle, a welcome development. A well-designed civics curriculum can play a vital role in cultivating responsible citizenship, strengthening democratic norms, and equipping the next generation with the tools to think critically about the institutions that govern their lives.
Yet, the rationale offered for this policy shift—notably Vice President Jagdeo’s sweeping indictment of the opposition—undermines the very civic virtues the curriculum purports to instill.
Speaking about youth opportunities during the announcement, Jagdeo claimed: “They can find work, they can get a government opportunity to pay for training,” Jagdeo said of Guyanese youth, “but it’s APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) that doesn’t want them to be trained because this is an army of people that they can mobilize and do their bidding and then dissociate themselves again.”
At this point, thoughtful readers stop short—and rightly so. To accuse a major political party of deliberately obstructing youth development to preserve a malleable political base is an extraordinary charge made without the courtesy of evidence or the humility of nuance.
At best, the comment appears politically expedient. At worst, it risks becoming corrosive to the country’s democratic fabric. In any healthy democracy, there must be space for principled opposition. Insinuating that APNU—or any opposition party—acts in bad faith against the interests of the nation’s youth not only poisons political discourse but also deepens a corrosive zero-sum mindset in public life.
Education policy should never be weaponized to score partisan points. If Civics is to serve its intended purpose, it must rise above the fray of tribal politics. It must teach the mechanics of government and the values of reasoned debate, mutual respect, and the importance of evidence in public argument.
Guyana needs a civics curriculum that empowers students to ask hard questions of the government and the opposition. However, this cannot happen if civics is introduced through a lens of vilification and political recrimination.
Vice President Jagdeo’s broader concern—that all Guyanese youth deserve access to training and opportunity—is unassailable. But if that concern is sincere, it must be matched by a political culture that elevates engagement over accusation, and inclusivity over division.
Civics begins with an example. As this curriculum moves from announcement to implementation, all stakeholders—government, opposition, educators, and parents—must ensure it reflects the democratic maturity it hopes to cultivate.
-Editorial Board
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