Compulsory participation in the Guyana "National Service"
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | GUY0599 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Compulsory participation in the Guyana "National Service", 1 November 1990, GUY0599, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac0d28.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
National Service is not military service nor is it a form of conscription. The 1980 constitution of Guyana defines National Service as "service in any disciplined force a principal purpose of which is the training of people with a view to advancing the economic development of Guyana." [Constitutions of the Countries of the World, Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Blaustein A. & G. Flanz Ed., Oceana Publications, Inc., Dobbs Ferry, New York, 1988, p.59.] National Service originally effected only those persons wishing to gain a University degree but since 1982 it has also been a prerequisite to access to secondary education.
"On October 17 1973 Burnham (Forbes, Prime minister) proposed that all students wishing to attend the University (of Guyana) should first perform twelve to fourteen months of national service, "so they could understand how the farmer thinks, so they could enjoy the beauties of Guyana. ... Burnham wished to indoctrinate all Guyanese eighteen-year-olds desiring a higher education." [ A Political and Social History of Guyana, 1945-83, J. Spinner, Jr., Westview Press Replica Edition, Boulder Col., 1985, p.157] In 1978 the CIDA post report claimed "two years service in the Guyana National Service is a condition of graduation for all students, including expatriates (from the University of Guyana)." [ Guyana Post Report Briefing Centre, The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Ottawa 1978, p 15.0.]
"The Guyanese National Service (GNS)... was presented as an educational organization, providing training for unskilled young people who wished to work for the development of the interior of the country, but there is little evidence that any sustained work was carried out. The GNS has been criticized for exploiting young people as cheap labour. Training (was) said to be minimal, though firearms training is given, and to include a large element of political indoctrination. Post-secondary education and scholarships were made conditional on one year's enrolment in the GNS." [ Comment Guyana, Catholic Institute for International Relations, London, 1985, p.16.]
"A directive was given from the Ministry of Education to the effect that "The regulation of the Secondary Schools Entrance Examination 1985 have been amended to include Young Brigade activities which are compulsory and which take effect from the 1985 Exams." (The Young Brigade is a unit of the National Service.) Children aged ten and eleven will spend two afternoons per week training for four months, and participate in Day Camps lasting not less than twelve hours organized at unit, district and national levels. Special courses for teachers have been organized by National Service officers with the objective of orienting teachers to the concept of National Service as the instrument of change. In relation to participation of children in National Service, the Minister of Education stated that the debate whether there should be a National Service is long over." [ Guyana Human Rights Report 1985, the Guyana Human Rights Association, Georgetown, Guyana, 1985, p.38.] "In both cases (National Service and the Young Brigades) the daily schedule includes physical exercise, work in the fields, theory on government policy and weapons training." [ GUYANA: Politics and Development..., 1985, p.59.]
The consequences for not participating in the National Service range from restricted access to higher education at the lower level to the refusal to grant a degree at the University level.