The Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme has far exceeded its original target, with a further 3,876 Guyanese graduating yesterday and the total number of scholarships awarded since the initiative’s launch in 2021 now standing at 54,793.
The latest graduating class also included the first 35 doctoral graduates produced under the programme, a milestone Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh described as “a source of immense personal, governmental, and national pride.”
Addressing the fourth GOAL graduation ceremony at the National Cultural Centre on behalf of President Irfaan Ali, Singh said the scale and diversity of this year’s graduating class underscored the programme’s rapid growth and national reach.
“Today, we are graduating 3,876 persons. That alone is worthy of resounding applause,” Singh told the gathering.
“And we are graduating these 3,876 persons who comprise an immensely diverse demographic across gender, across geography, across discipline—subject matter discipline, across institutions, and indeed, across every other criterion that you could possibly imagine.”
The graduating class included 2,858 women and 1,018 men. Among them were 1,150 graduates from the Guyana Retraining and Orientation for Online Learning (GROW) programme, 396 bachelor’s degree recipients, 836 master’s degree graduates and 35 doctoral graduates.
Also addressing the ceremony, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said the programme, which was established to expand access to tertiary education through online learning, had significantly surpassed its initial objective of awarding 20,000 scholarships between 2021 and 2025.
According to Phillips, GOAL has awarded 54,793 scholarships to date.
“It was created with a simple but ambitious purpose: to provide Guyanese with greater access to quality education through online learning. Today, we can say with confidence that the programme has exceeded expectations,” he said.
The Prime Minister also pointed to improvements in internet connectivity, which he said had removed one of the major barriers to participation, particularly in hinterland communities.
He noted that residents in even the most remote communities can now access GOAL scholarships, with internet connectivity available nationwide through the deployment of Starlink devices and other measures.
Education Minister Sonia Parag, in remarks delivered at the ceremony and in a statement she made on the Ministry of Education’s Facebook page, said the graduating class reflected the programme’s success in widening access to higher education across all regions and social groups.
She said the 3,876 graduates include teachers, nurses, public servants, entrepreneurs, parents, young professionals and other lifelong learners drawn from every administrative region.
True face
“I see the true face and reflection of Guyana,” Parag said, noting that the programme was intended to bridge educational gaps affecting hinterland and rural communities.
According to the Minister, women accounted for the majority of graduates, with 2,858 women and 1,018 men receiving awards this year.
The graduating class includes 1,308 recipients of certificate and vocational awards, 1,150 graduates from the Guyana Retraining and Orientation for Online Learning (GROW) programme, 396 bachelor’s degree recipients, 836 master’s degree recipients and 35 doctoral graduates.
Parag said the figures demonstrate that educational advancement is taking place across all sectors of society and at different stages of life.
“Some are earning their first qualification. Others have returned to the classroom after many years. Despite their different journeys, they all share one thing in common: they made the decision to invest in themselves and seize an opportunity to build a brighter future,” she said.
She also credited the Government’s investment in the programme, describing GOAL as an initiative established under President Ali’s administration to make educational opportunities accessible to all Guyanese.
Encouraging prospective applicants to take advantage of the scholarships, Parag said individuals should not allow doubt, fear or personal circumstances to prevent them from pursuing further education.
She also urged school-aged students to draw inspiration from the graduates, saying education remained one of the most valuable investments a person could make.
The Minister said the achievements of the graduates represented not only personal success but also national progress.
“Today, all of Guyana celebrates you. Your success is our nation’s success,” she said.
Region Four accounted for the largest number of graduates with 2,004, followed by Region Three with 609 and Region Six with 350.
Graduates also came from every other administrative region, including hinterland areas, underscoring the nationwide reach of the programme.
Broader
Singh used the occasion to place the programme within the broader history of tertiary education in Guyana, recalling a time when many Guyanese had to travel overseas to pursue university studies.
“Your family had to have the means to send you overseas, to England, or Ireland, or the United States of America, or some other distant country to be able to get a university education,” he said.
He credited former President Cheddi Jagan with establishing the University of Guyana and said the GOAL programme represented a similar effort to remove barriers to higher education.
“Fast forward to 2020, and another visionary President of Guyana, President Irfaan Ali, made the pronouncement that even though we have the University of Guyana, many Guyanese persons are not able to leave where they live to come to Turkeyen or Tain to get a university degree; many of them are not able to leave their jobs or able to leave their families to be able to pursue a university degree,” Singh said.
He added that the programme was designed to ensure that educational opportunities are available regardless of a person’s location, employment status or family responsibilities.
“And you, my dear young Guyanese brothers and sisters, are the beneficiaries of that visionary commitment made by President Irfaan Ali that gave rise to the GOAL scholarship programme,” he said.
According to figures released at the ceremony, Region Four accounted for the largest number of graduates with 2,004, followed by Region Three with 609, Region Six with 350, Region Ten with 261, Region Five with 191, Region Two with 185 and Region One with 99.
Additional graduates came from Region Nine (82), Region Seven (62) and Region Eight (33), highlighting the nationwide reach of the programme.
Singh said the significance of the initiative extended beyond the certificates and degrees being awarded.
“Today, we are witnessing transformation in action, but not only national transformation, not only macro transformation, but transformation of individual lives and individual families by the creation of opportunities for personal upliftment,” he said.
“And we are not stopping here because GOAL is part of a broader revolution in education and skills development.”
Critics have said that considering the amount of monies spent on the GOAL programme there should be an independent report done about its management and effectiveness. Questions have also been raised about the quality and utility of some of the programmes on offer at various institutions and whether they result in persons gaining higher paying jobs or becoming entrepreneurs.
GOAL was also at the centre of a major controversy last year where an intermediary had falsely claimed that courses were tenable at Staffordshire University in the UK. Staffordshire denied this and this caused severe dislocation for students. The India-based intermediary was subsequently removed followed extensive reports in the media and the GOAL programme was to be refunded a significant amount of money.
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