MINISTER of Education Priya Manickchand has announced that by the end of 2026, all teachers in the hinterland will be trained.

At the opening of the Waramuri Secondary School in Region One on Wednesday, Minister Manickchand revealed that the government has started the process of increasing the number of trained teachers in the hinterland by 100 per cent in five years.

In 2020, 43 per cent of teachers in the hinterland were trained, but now, according to Minister Manickchand, that number is 86 per cent.

“We intend to have 100 per cent trained teachers before the end of 2026,” the education minister stated.

She told students and parents gathered at the commissioning ceremony that there were only 7,000 teachers in 2020 servicing all the students in public schools.

“Now we have over 15,000 teachers in 2025,” the minister stated.

On the coast, 98 per cent of teachers are trained or in training.

Minister Manickchand noted that over the last three and a half years, 9000 teachers across the country have been trained.

Not only will students have better education with trained teachers, but according to the minister, “Every teacher that gets trained, immediately gets a better salary. So those teachers are able to improve themselves.”

Specific to Region One, the minister stated that in 2020, “There were 2500 children in Region One that could not be placed in a secondary school, who had to go to a primary top or stay home or in the backdam.”

With the Waramuri school being opened to students in the new school term, and other secondary schools being constructed in Region One, she noted that “By the end of 2026, every child will be able to go to a district secondary school close to their home [in Region One].” (DPI)