“It is still an emerging market so there aren’t going to be huge numbers, but if I was in charge of international student recruitment, I would be looking at the oil and gas executives – the expats and local Guyanese employees who have found higher paying jobs,” CEO of Intead Ben Waxman told The PIE News. 

In 2022, Guyana was reclassified as a high-income country by the World Bank after Exxon Mobil discovered huge offshore oil stores in 2015, putting the country on track to be a top oil producer by 2027 and boosting its rapidly growing middle class.  

On top of Guyana’s economic prospects, it is the only English-speaking country in South America, so there is no language barrier for students studying in the US, UK Canada or Australia, according to Waxman.  

“The whole country has a population of 800,000 so it’s a relatively small market, the rise of the middle class will take some time and a lot of families are not going to be able to afford a foreign education without scholarships. 

“But chances are that the executives working for these [oil and gas] companies are looking for opportunities outside the country for their kids to be educated,” said Waxman.  

Guyanese students have limited options for post-secondary education at home, with the University of Guyana ranking 192 in The QS Latin American and Caribbean 2024 university rankings.   

At some point in the future, economics and politics and other things can change and if you’re totally reliant on China, or India or South Korea, you’re going to be in trouble.

Ben Waxman

The US State Department puts Guyana at a level 3 risk due to crime, which means that the relative perceived safety of the US might be less of a concern for Guyanese students than it is for students from other destinations such as Japan, Waxman noted.  

While Guyana’s size means it will never replace the Indian or Chinese markets, there is growing awareness of the importance of diversifying source countries to mitigate the risk of relying on students from one market. 

“There is more recognition that diversity is important; and it’s not just about the value of having diversity, but it’s also about having a more diverse supply chain of students.  

“At some point in the future, economics and politics and other things can change and if you’re totally reliant on China, or India or South Korea, you’re going to be in trouble. 

“So, the wise recruiters are recognising that reality, so they’re going to their mainstays, but every year they’re also going to one or two emerging markets just to make sure the supply chain is going to be there for years and years,” said Waxman. 

With 27% of the Guyanese population aged 10 – 24 and a median age of 26, Guyana’s large youth population is another attraction for institutions looking to expand into the market, which is underdeveloped when it comes to student recruitment. 

Alongside the financially motivated students from the oil and gas industry, it is this young cohort of Guyanese that are increasingly concerned about the environment, which recruitment officials should bear in mind, according to Waxman.  

“There is definite interest in studying abroad, especially among students at the post-graduate level or those seeking interdisciplinary programs in the hard sciences,” said Mellissa Ifill, deputy vice chancellor of Institutional Advancement at the University of Guyana. 

Guyana’s low-lying coastline is putting the country at great risk from heavy rainfall, sea-level rise and flooding caused by climate change, despite the country’s newfound oil wealth, the rising generation of Guyanese students have climate change on their mind.  

“International institutions are sometimes blind and think that they should promote the entire institution … this is a case where I would pitch a set of programs,” said Waxman. 

“I think it’s all about environmental sciences and oil and gas … and that’s where many US institutions have great strengths,” he added.