Guyana minister urges CXC to focus on critical thinking in AI era

At a time when answers to complex questions can be sourced in seconds through AI tools, Guyana’s Minister of Education, the Honourable Sonia Parag, has called for assessment reform across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), urging a shift away from traditional “test-taking” models.

“When a machine can generate an answer, the value shifts from the answer itself to the thinking behind it,” Minister Parag said at the inaugural CXC Regional Education Conference on Wednesday evening in Kingston, Jamaica.

She noted that artificial intelligence can quickly produce essays, create high-quality images and video, and solve complex problems, making traditional metrics of academic success increasingly outdated.

Minister Parag stressed that the region must pivot from rewarding memorisation to validating critical thinking, where students are able to question, verify, and defend their logic within a real-world Caribbean context. She said the goal is to stimulate curiosity rather than academic exhaustion, ensuring assessments capture a child’s thought process.

“Connectivity without competency is merely noise,” she cautioned, highlighting that digital access does not automatically translate to understanding.

As head of the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) – Education, Minister Parag emphasised that reforms must remain anchored in literacy and numeracy. “If a child cannot read with comprehension, then an e-library offers little value. And if a student cannot reason with numbers, then the promise of coding, data analysis and digital innovation becomes inaccessible,” she said.

She also stressed that AI is a support system, not a replacement for teachers. “An algorithm can provide a fact, but it cannot provide the mentorship, the emotional intelligence, or the moral guidance that a Caribbean teacher brings to a developing mind,” Minister Parag said.

The minister highlighted technology’s potential to level the academic playing field. “Digital platforms allow for a democratisation of knowledge where a student in a remote riverain community or a hinterland village like Aishalton can access the same high-quality resources as a student in a city centre,” she noted.

Congratulating CXC for hosting the inaugural forum, Minister Parag called it a timely and necessary step toward a future where technology supports, rather than replaces, critical thinking. She expressed confidence that once a balance between AI and foundational skills is achieved, the Caribbean can move from keeping pace with digital change to redefining the future of education.

Minister Parag also called for a second phase of the forum to shift from dialogue to delivery, with regional teams drafting the policies and frameworks needed to modernise Caribbean education. For her, the true measure of success will be tangible changes in classrooms across the region.