By Svetlana Marshall
More than 500 Guyanese graduated this morning with Master’s degrees in various fields, as the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) marked the start of its 3rd Annual Graduation Ceremony at the National Cultural Centre. Over two days, more than 6,700 persons will graduate from a number of GOAL programmes.
At this morning’s ceremony, President Irfaan Ali said the online academy has helped to break down barriers in the Education Sector, and has opened the door of opportunities to thousands of Guyanese.
Describing the programme as “bold, transformative and revolutionary,” President Ali said GOAL has significantly changed access to education.
“GOAL has changed how we think about education in the country. It has changed how we access education, and more importantly, it has changed who gets access to education,” the President said.
He said the barriers to education, in particular, the cost of accessing education have been broken down. Today, he said more than 70% of the beneficiaries are women.
“This overwhelming female participation underscores GOAL’s transformative role as a powerful force for empowering girls and women across Guyana, giving them greater access to education, professional development, and economic independence. This programme has broken down barriers, barriers of distance, of cost, of time, and yes, even barriers of self-doubt. It has opened doors for those who have been told you are too old or you missed your chance or that is not for people like you. It has killed all of those narratives,” the President said.
The graduation is taking place after months of controversy. At least two universities that were listed under the online academy, and were said to be offering Master’s programmes through GOAL, have publicly distanced themselves from the academy. In one instance, more than 1,400 students were affected.
Today, President Ali thanked the institutions that partnered with GOAL, and the administration of the online academy staying the course.
“To all the partnering institutions, your belief in this programme has met the world to us. You took a chance on us and we are grateful. To the management and staff of the GOAL Programme, you believed this could be done, you showed that with will, innovation and compassion, we could build a bridge between aspiration and achievement. And to every supporter, thank you. Your support made dreams possible,” the President said.
He urged the graduates to give back to Guyana with their time, and contribute to the development of the country.
Between today and tomorrow, 6,712 persons will graduate from GOAL, bringing the total number of persons to graduate from the online academy to approximately 39,000 with more than 70% being women.
Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, in his address, said as part of the 2020 Manifesto, President Ali had promised 20,000 online scholarships should he be elected to office. Minister Singh said five years later, the President has not only made good on his commitment but his Administration has surpassed the target by almost 100%.
“When compared to the 20,000 online scholarships that we committed to grant in this term of office, I am pleased to report that we have now granted, including the 2025 cohort in excess of 39,000 online scholarships. That represents as should be evident to you, almost twice the number we had committed to grant,” Minister Singh said.
Dubbing GOAL a success, the Finance Minister said the Ali Administration has injected approximately $12.8B into the online academy.
He told the graduates that having received world class education from international universities, they must now apply their knowledge and skills for the development of the country.
“You are living in a Guyana today that is the fastest growing economy in the world where new investments are materializing, literally on a daily basis where demand for goods and services is expanding at an exponential rate, where new skills and skill types are demanded at a rate and with a sophistication that has never been seen before, and where entrepreneurial opportunities exist at a level that has never been seen before. And so, you are literally are living in the era of opportunity in Guyana. The task now is yours to use the education and skills you would have obtained to position yourself appropriately,” Minister Singh said.
More than 1,200 persons are graduating from the GROW Programme, while 4,244 persons are graduating from certificate programmes. Other persons are graduating with diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, postgraduate diplomas, and master’s degrees.
GOAL has been in existence for almost five years. Another 9000 scholarships are expected to be issued for the new academic year.
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