‘Investment in education is the surest path to personal upliftment’

-says Finance Minister at Albion scholarship launch

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Hon. Dr. Ashni Singh has urged residents of Albion and nearby communities to take full advantage of the 20,000 online scholarship programmes being offered by the Government.

Minister Singh told the gathering of mostly young people at the Albion Community Development Ground on Saturday that this initiative is a way of developing their communities.   

“I want to speak about it at a household and individual level. Investment in education is the surest path to personal upliftment. We have all grown up in homes where our parents wanted us to have the best possible opportunity.

All of you grew up in homes where your parents wanted their children to have the best possible education so that they can have the best possible chance of doing well in life, that is the dream of every parent. Take advantage of this opportunity,” he said.

Dr. Singh urged the youth to uplift themselves and broaden their horizons with the opportunities being offered through the scholarships, which are being facilitated by the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).

However, he warned that it was not a competition and therefore the young people should encourage each other to apply.

“I will tell you this, in my experience, a rising tide lifts all the boats. The reality is that if all of us do better, collectively we will be doing better. There are 20,000 scholarships, enough for you and your neighbour.”

Minister Singh said these current developments at the national level are strategic to enhance the standard of living.

“The skills that our people have will influence the level of production and productivity that we are able to achieve and will influence the prosperity of our country. It is logical, the more skilled you are, the more productive you are able to be, and the more effective you are, the more you are able to contribute to national wellbeing.”    

“We want each and every one of you to further your education in your chosen afield, whatever interest you, we want you to be able to further your education, we want you to be able to uplift and improve your skills, so that you can enjoy a better quality of life.”

Minister Singh said this current period in Guyana’s history is an exciting transformation period and Government will ensure that opportunities to enhance and develop skills and improve education reaches every county, town and area of Guyana.

Government’s GOAL initiative is a manifesto promise to improve access to education at every level from nursery to university. GOAL aims to expand the middle- and upper-class category of the population through enhancement of access to tertiary education that will support manpower requirements of both the private and public sectors by the year 2025.