GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana authorities introduced on Monday that it has practically doubled its preliminary objective of awarding 20,000 on-line scholarships by means of the Guyana On-line Academy of Studying (GOAL), with over 39,000 scholarships awarded thus far.
Senior Minister within the Workplace of the President with accountability for Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh, advised the third GOAL commencement ceremony, held on the Nationwide Cultural Centre, that the scholarships are a part of the federal government’s pledge to increase entry to larger schooling.
He mentioned that since GOAL was launched in 2021, the federal government has invested GUY$ 12.6 billion (roughly 0.004 cents per Guyana greenback) in this system, averaging an estimated GUY$ 312,000 per pupil.
He mentioned that this yr alone, over 2,000 college students are anticipated to graduate with {qualifications} starting from Grasp’s and bachelor’s levels to postgraduate certificates.
Singh, addressing the greater than 500 graduates who earned Grasp’s levels in numerous topics, urged them to grab the second in what he described as a historic section of development for the nation.
“You might be dwelling within the period of alternative in Guyana,” Singh mentioned, alluding to Guyana’s financial transformation and rising sectors that require expert professionals.
The GOAL initiative kinds a part of the federal government’s broader effort to construct a knowledge-based economic system. It allows Guyanese to entry tertiary schooling on-line, eradicating conventional limitations reminiscent of geography and price and permitting college students to check from the consolation of their very own houses.
In his deal with to the ceremony, President Irfaan Ali praised all of the “partnering establishments for his or her perception on this program,” including, “It has meant the world to us.
”You took an opportunity on us, and we’re grateful,” he mentioned, additionally saying that the administration of this system right here had proven that ‘with will, innovation, and compassion, we may construct a bridge between aspiration and achievement.”
He advised the graduates that that they had “come a good distance” and that “whereas that they had each cause to present, they didn’t. You stayed the course, and now right here you might be together with your certificates in hand and your eyes fastened on the longer term.
“And what a future it’s. Guyana shouldn’t be the identical nation it was a decade in the past. Our economic system is increasing, and new industries are rising. Oil and fuel, sure, but in addition development, know-how, healthcare, schooling, and hospitality. Logistics, tourism, industries, manufacturing, agro-processing, and the listing goes on and on.”
However he warned that “all that development and all that chance means nothing if we do not need the folks able to seize it. That’s the reason GOAL issues. That’s the reason you matter as a result of once we discuss growth, we’re simply not speaking about roads and bridges, we’re speaking about engineers, who may design them….”
The colleges concerned within the GOAL program got here from India, Germany, the UK, Spain, Malawi, Zambia, Trinidad and Tobago, and the host nation.
