Students of the Sophia Primary School are now benefiting from a modern and more spacious learning environment following the commissioning of a new wing on Wednesday, aimed at improving comfort and reducing overcrowding in classrooms.

The new facility forms part of ongoing efforts to expand access to quality education across Guyana.

Delivering remarks at the ceremony, Minister of Education, Sonia Parag, urged students to take responsibility for maintaining the space and making the most of the opportunity provided.

“You are the ones who have to leave the legacy for the next generation. Therefore, you have to treat this facility with care and with consideration,” she said, cautioning against damaging school property.

“That means that you don’t deface the walls, disregard the property that will ensure that you get an education,” Parag told the students.

The new wing commissioned at Sophia Primary school

She emphasised the importance of a supportive and respectful school environment, reminding students to be mindful of their actions. “It’s very important that we care what we have and our environment…so every time you are playing ensuring that you keep in the back of your mind that you are not destroying what you have,” Parag said.

Highlighting the role of leadership within schools, Parag noted that strong guidance is critical to student success. “Leadership matters in a school. If you don’t have good leadership or if you have weak leadership, you will have a weak school,” she said.

She also acknowledged the challenges posed by modern distractions, particularly technology and social media, noting that educators and parents must adapt. “This is a different time…they are competing with so many things, one of them being technology…one being social media. So it is important that we change how we manage, how we lead because technology is not going to go away but how do we manage it in such a way that we bring out the positives of it,” Parag explained.

Encouraging students to take personal responsibility for their education, Parag added, “What you will learn in these classrooms is 50 percent of what you need to know. The other 50 percent is on you…it means when your teacher is teaching you pay attention.”

The newly commissioned wing is part of a broader national push to strengthen the education sector. In the past five years, she said over 100 schools commenced building and will be completed giving access to thousands of children across the country.

With the additional space, students will no longer be overcrowded, allowing for a more conducive learning environment. “You have gotten a whole new facility…so that you can be in a learning environment with space but how do you have to keep that environment…violence and bullying we have to keep our spaces safe,” Parag said.