Important observation on GOAL scholarship awardees

Aug 13, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

I write to you today with a heart of content regarding the GOAL scholarship programme, which the Government of Guyana has rolled out across the country. I am not a scholarship awardee but I feel so proud to know that in excess of 6,000 Guyanese have secured scholarships to study at different universities around the world. I ask that you allow me space in your publication to echo my gratitude to the Government as well as to comment on some observations I made.
To begin, I want to commend the Government for embarking on this great initiative. For years, Guyanese have been asking for opportunities like this and now it has become a reality that will better the lives of thousands of scholars across the country. The GOAL initiative is well thought out and I believe that it has been rolled out at a very convenient time. The efforts which have gone into making it possible by the Public Service Ministry as well as the Ministry of Education deserve many commendations.
Just a few days ago, I saw that the list of scholarship awardees from the GOAL programme was published in the newspapers. I perused the list thoroughly because I was very excited for our young people and those that were successful in securing their scholarships in the various fields. One of the things that I observed was that of the 6,000 names published, there was an even spread between names which I believe are Afro-Guyanese and those which I believe are Indo-Guyanese. From what I have gathered, I would say that around 39 percent and 40 percent of the scholarships were awarded to Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese respectively, and the remaining 21 percent to the Indigenous Peoples and those of mixed race. The spread is a representation of the population and there appears to be no discrimination in terms of geographic location.
Another observation that I made is that the opposition’s criticism of this initiative, specifically its claim of ethnic discrimination (which appears to be their mantra with everything emanating from the Government), is not based on the reality given my earlier observation. In addition, its calls for a boycott were largely ignored as the numbers indicate.
In concluding, I just want to reiterate how happy I am that the Government has embarked on this initiative, which will benefit our people greatly. I commend them for their efforts and call on every single Guyanese to do the same.

Yours truly,
Adron Pires

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