Minister Parag urges Moruca residents to qualify themselves through GOAL scholarships

Minister of Public Service, Hon. Sonia Parag encouraged Region One residents to take advantage of the opportunity to obtain higher education, when she launched the Government’s 20,000 online scholarships programme in the Moruca sub-district on Saturday.  

The Minister was accompanied by Minister of Housing and Water, Hon. Collin Croal and a team from the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), which is facilitating the scholarships.

Despite the inclement weather, the team engaged villagers at Santa Rosa, Karaburi and Waramuri to ensure that they were all informed of the scholarships.

This year, the Government will be awarding 4,500 of the scholarships, which would be accessible over the next five years.

In her address, Minister Parag said: “The country is developing in everything and therefore, we should also develop in education and we should develop as individuals.

You see when you get a higher education, or when you achieve something like that, the power thereby lies in your hands; the power to earn; the power to get a job; the power to get dignity; the power to be independent. All of that you will be able to achieve from an education.”

The Minister also said the Government recognises the need for an educated and qualified population and as such, has spared no effort in ensuring that opportunities are provided for citizens countrywide.

The roll out of the scholarships programme, she said, is testimony of that commitment. The fact that it has been launched just nine months after the PPP/C Administration took office also reflects the high priority the Government has placed on education, and in keeping its campaign promises.

Minister Croal expressed similar sentiments. He encouraged the residents to carefully peruse the 85 programmes being offered and to apply for the one that best suits their interest.

At the close of the meeting, he also encouraged persons to take their COVID-19 vaccines to protect themselves from contracting a severe form of the disease. Minister Croal said the Government is taking every step to ensure that the vaccines are available countrywide in order to create herd immunity, which would faster enable Guyana to return to normalcy.

Meanwhile, residents of the communities warmly welcomed the Government initiative as many of them look forward to furthering their studies.

Speaking to DPI, Mr. Earl Rodrigues noted that while previously persons in the hinterland had challenges advancing their studies, the scholarships programme will help them to achieve their academic dreams.

“A lot of persons will take full advantage of this programme and the Ministers coming here to Moruca to bring the programme has shown the resilience and dedication of our present Government to focus on development in all areas, especially, academics.”

Ms. Ormelindie Gildary was also pleased to learn of the scholarships. She said, “the scholarship programme is a good initiative for us in the hinterland and will be beneficial to all of us here.”

The GOAL programme is available to Guyanese across all 10 Administrative Regions. Individuals can choose from 85 programmes to study at five international universities. The institutions are the University of the West Indies Open Campus, the University of the Southern Caribbean, the University of Applied Sciences, the Indira Gandhi National Open University, and the JAIN University.

For more information, and to apply, persons can visit the Ministry of Education’s website education.gov.gy.