Vulnerable groups to benefit from online scholarships next year

Oct 27, 2020 News

Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag

Kaieteur News – As moves are made to implement measures to improve education in Guyana, vulnerable groups are expected to have first preference for the 5,000 online scholarships Government hopes to roll out next year. This was confirmed by Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag, in a telephone interview with this publication yesterday.
Kaieteur News was informed that those included in the vulnerable groups will be the children of bauxite miners, sugar workers and others who genuinely cannot finance a university education for their children. A source at the Ministry of Public Service told this newspaper that as the initiative moves forward, different groups around the country will be scrutinized by Government to see if they are considered as “vulnerable”.
It was stated that the initiative will see collaboration with the Ministry of Education, and the country’s Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, will be speaking extensively on the programme in days to come. The source also stated that the initiative is just in its initial phase, with lots of planning and implementation yet to be done. So far, Government has been engaging in discussions with a wide array of universities around the world in hopes of getting the scholarships, according to the source.
Concerning the 5,000 scholarships to be offered next year, that number falls under 20,000 scholarships the government is seeking to distribute within the next five years. This was announced by President Irfaan Ali at the opening ceremony, over the weekend, for the Dr. Yesu Persaud Clinical Education Centre at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
“We are going to grant 20,000 scholarships across our country, in every single field from next year…the first 5,000 will be made available next year, and we are already in discussion with more than 10 universities across the world,” the President stated.
The President also shared that in light of the COVID-19 pandemic; many universities have improved and accelerated their development plan to provide students with distance education. He also stated that plans that were made for 10 years ahead have come up presently.
It was disclosed that the scholarships will have certain requirements, however, the Ministry of Public Service and MOE will be working collectively to finalize that, the application opening dates and other areas.
The government will also be examining policies for the scholarships and a selection committee will be formed.

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