The child who is struggling today may be the engineer, Guyana needs tomorrow

Oct 18, 2026 Features / Columnists, News

(Kaieteur News) – Somewhere in Guyana today, a child is sitting in a classroom struggling to understand a mathematics problem. Perhaps that child has already been labelled slow, weak, or incapable. Perhaps the teacher has moved on to another topic while the child is still trying to understand the previous lesson. Perhaps the parents have become frustrated, believing their child simply isn’t trying hard enough. But what if that child is a future engineer, scientist, doctor, entrepreneur, or inventor? What if the problem is not a lack of intelligence, but a lack of the right academic support?

I have spent years working with children through STEMGuyana, and one lesson has become increasingly clear to me: we must stop confusing a child’s present academic performance with their potential. A child who struggles with mathematics today is not necessarily incapable of becoming an engineer tomorrow. However, without intervention, encouragement, and consistent academic support, that possibility may never be realised. The good news is that parents and communities can do something about it, starting now. We do not have to wait for another government programme, a new school building, or a major education reform initiative to begin helping the children who are struggling today.