Minister Parag urges Guyanese to take advantage of 20,000 scholarships initiative

Apr 17, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag is encouraging Guyanese to take advantage of the 20,000 scholarships being offered through the Ministry of Public Service.

Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag

Minister Parag, who was at the time speaking on NCN’s Guyana Today programme on Tuesday, said this is a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity simply because of the attractiveness of the scholarship package.
“This initiative is to give all Guyanese an equal opportunity, so we’re looking at a regional equitable spread; we’re looking at people who are financially unable to sustain themselves and therefore will be given the opportunity where the government will be funding this for them.”
Minister Parag indicated that the 20,000 scholarships will not just give Guyanese an education, but that it will help develop the country’s human resource capacity. This, she said, is in keeping with the need for a modern society while adding that the Public Service Ministry and the Ministry of Education are integral to the process.
The Education Ministry will manage the academic and technical aspect of the programme and work along with the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), which is the scholarship secretariat.
“The Ministry of Education will not touch the awarding of scholarships because it does not come under its mandate. The Ministry of Public Service can do that and has the mandate to do that. So, we will be looking at the people who will be eligible for the five universities, and then deciding, in a transparent manner, who will be the recipients of those awards… No region will be left out. No community will be left out,” Minister Parag stated.
Avenues will be made available for individuals in the hinterland regions to apply for the scholarships. The Minister said teams from the Public Service and Education Ministries will be conducting outreaches in the interior regions in the coming week. She added that eligible participants will be able to register during those outreaches.
This initiative is in keeping with the commitment made by President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and the PPP/C in its manifesto to grant 20,000 online scholarships over the next five years.
Guyanese can apply to pursue any of the over 80 programmes being offered through GOAL from five internationally-acclaimed universities. These are the University of the West Indies Open Campus (UWI), the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), the University of Applied Sciences (IUBH), the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the JAIN “Deemed To Be” University.
Furthermore, programmes will be offered from the Certificate level up to the PhD level. Application forms are now available on the Ministry of Education’s website at www.education.gov.gy. The GOAL website will be launched this week to facilitate the submission of digital applications by interested persons.

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