The GOAL scholarship programme has awarded 54,793 scholarships since its launch, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh announced on Tuesday, as the programme held its fourth graduation ceremony at the National Cultural Centre.
Singh, delivering the feature address on behalf of President Irfaan Ali, said 3,876 persons graduated this year — a figure he described as “sweeping and staggering” — bringing the cumulative total to 54,793, nearly double the 20,000 scholarships the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government had promised to deliver in its first five years in office.
Of this year’s graduating cohort, 2,858 are women, 1,150 graduated from the GROW (Get Ready for Opportunities to Work) programme and 836 earned master’s degrees. A first batch of doctoral graduates was also recognised, which Singh called a source of “immense personal, governmental, and national pride.”
Region 4 recorded the highest number of graduates at 2,004, followed by Region 3 with 609 and Region 6 with 350.
Singh credited the programme to President Ali, who he said made the commitment during the 2020 election campaign to allow Guyanese to pursue university and post-graduate education from home, regardless of their location or domestic circumstances.
He also invoked former President Cheddi Jagan’s founding of the University of Guyana, drawing a line between that initiative and the current administration’s online scholarship programme.
Prime Minister Brigadier Mark Phillips addressed graduates during the morning session. Ministers Sonia Parag, Zulfikar Ally and Keoma Griffith were also in attendance.
