Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:14 AM
GOAL Initiative Head offers more clarity on scholarship issues
– confirms awardees will not be bonded by contract
The Head of the GOAL Initiative, Prof. Jacob Opadeyi.
Former University of Guyana Registrar, Vincent Alexander.
Kaieteur News – Professor Jacob Opadeyi, Head of the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) Initiative being rolled out by the Government, has offered even more clarity on issues that were recently raised as it relates to the scholarships being awarded under the Initiative.
Recently, GOAL, which seeks to award 20,000 online scholarships to Guyanese over the next five years, was heavily scrutinised by the former University of Guyana Registrar, Vincent Alexander in a letter carried in this newspaper’s April 21, 2021 edition. He had said, “In advertising, it has been indicated that the awardees will be bonded and guaranteed jobs in the Public Sector.”
However, as Opadeyi responded to Alexander in a letter carried in Kaieteur’s April 25, 2021 edition, he said, “It is not true that the awardees would 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.”
Not satisfied with Opadeyi’s response, in another letter published in this newspaper’s April 28, 2021 edition, the former UG Registrar argued, “In the response to my letter, Dr. Opadeyi indicates that there will be no bonding of the awardees. He contends that I was inaccurate in suggesting that the awardees would be bonded,” and then Alexander, in support of his argument, added a screenshot of a publication on the Ministry of Public Service’s website, which under the caption: “Why A Scholarship?” and the third bullet read, “Job Security – graduates are bounded by contract and are guaranteed a job within the public sector after completing studies.” He then said, “Instead of the snide remarks, Dr. Opedayi should correct what according to him would be false and misleading information as is on the website to which I have referred.”
Kaieteur News yesterday contacted Opadeyi for a response, who explained the bonding that was mentioned on the Ministry’s website does not apply to the GOAL Initiative scholarship, but the traditional Government of Guyana scholarship, which has been continuously rolled out over the years to Guyanese. He said that there are two main types of scholarships available; the GOAL Initiative scholarship and the traditional scholarships. Further to that, the GOAL Head outlined that the scholarship programme sees persons learning online, which can be done remotely from their homes, but the classic scholarships often see the Government sending the awardees abroad to study, which is a costly venture, part of the reason they are bonded.
Prof. Opadeyi had lamented that besides groping for answers about the GOAL Initiative, Alexander’s initial letter was plagued with inaccuracies that he sought to counter.
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