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GOAL initiative Head responds to Alexander on scholarship initiative queries
Head of the GOAL Initiative, Prof. Jacob Opadeyi
Former University of Guyana Registrar, Vincent Alexander
Kaieteur News – The Head of the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) initiative, Prof. Jacob Opadeyi, has responded to concerns recently raised by former University of Guyana (UG) Registrar, Vincent Adams, as it relates to the scholarships being rolled out.
The GOAL initiative which was introduced by the PPP/C administration aims to grant 20,000 online scholarships to Guyanese in the next five years, in keeping with its manifesto promise. In addition, it sees collaboration between the Ministry of Public Service and the Ministry of Education for its implementation.
Prof. Opadeyi, UG’s former Vice-Chancellor, was appointed as the Head of GOAL earlier this month. In his letter carried in today’s edition, he started out by saying that besides groping for answers, Alexander’s letter, which was carried in this newspaper’s April 21, 2021 edition was plagued with inaccuracies. In his letter Alexander had said, “In advertising, it has been indicated that the awardees will be bonded and guaranteed jobs in the Public Sector.” Opadeyi in response stated that the scholarship awardees would not be bonded. “They would be required to do community service stints of varying lengths, based on the respective programmes, before they graduate. Clearly, they can seek jobs in any sector of the economy,” he revealed. He went on to say that beneath the veneer, Alexander seems to be querying whether the awardees of these scholarships would eventually infiltrate the public sector.
Further to that, the GOAL Head stated that the programme(s) for teachers contemplate active teachers. Alexander had asked, “In the field of Education, one of the offerings is the Certificate in Teaching of Reading for applicants ‘with any Bachelor Degree currently employed as teacher in early school grades.’ What is the plan to retain such a person as a professional teacher?” Opadeyi stated that the programme serves to upgrade the skills of those already in the profession.
Adding to that, he stated that Alexander is “well aware” that many teachers and nurses, among others, have not been able to upgrade their skills or knowledge to their potential, which is partially due to their locations of employment, particularly remote parts of the country. “This is a vital point when one considers that not all teachers or nurses can achieve upward mobility or promotions. Upgrading of qualifications provides some semblance of parity by way of increased salary,” he stressed.
Alexander had pointed to the fact that many of the advertised programmes at the Bachelor’s level require ‘A’ Level or Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) qualifications and in light of that, he asked if Guyana’s school system is producing a sufficient number of persons with those qualifications, or whether the number of persons accessing those programmes is limited.
Additionally, he had said that since in future years many persons will complete the six-month Bachelor Preparatory Programme being offered under GOAL, there is also uncertainty as it relates to the required ‘A’ Level and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency (CAPE) qualifications for entry into Bachelor programmes and whether that programme will gain persons entry and close the gap between ‘O’ Level or the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).
Opadeyi outlined that while the programme may not close the academic gap between ‘O’ Level/CSEC and ‘A’ Level/CAPE, “it will sufficiently prepare the student for entry into the respective programmes. Furthermore, it must be noted that only one institution offers this option which is based on its own national education requirements.”
Concluding his letter, he remarked that he hopes his response would ease a lot of minds, regarding the role of GOAL in the roll-out of the 20,000 scholarships over the next five years.
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