The Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) has significantly exceeded its original five-year target by awarding 54,793 scholarships, more than double the 20,000 it had committed to delivering when the programme was launched.
This was disclosed by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, as he addressed the afternoon session of the 4th GOAL graduation ceremony at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) on Tuesday.
Established in 2021, the GOAL scholarship programme was launched to provide Guyanese with greater access to quality online education, initially aiming to award 20,000 scholarships between 2021 and 2025.
Of the 3,876 graduates on Tuesday, 2,858 are women. The cohort included 836 graduates with master’s degrees and 35 with doctorates – the first batch of GOAL PhD graduates. A further 1,150 completed the GROW programme, which provides an alternative pathway to university education.
“Today we are witnessing transformation in action, but not only national transformation, not only macro transformation, but transformation of individual lives and individual families by the creation of opportunities for personal upliftment,” the minister underscored.
He reminded graduates that the programme was built to remove barriers that had kept university and postgraduate study out of reach for earlier generations, including cost, distance, work and family commitments, and geography. GOAL allows Guyanese to study from home through digital platforms.
Dr Singh told the graduates that opportunities across Guyana’s rapidly expanding economy continue to grow, but emphasised that success depends on individuals being willing to seize them.
“The future of Guyana is not something you inherit. The future of Guyana is something you will be helping to create,” he said.
The minister also highlighted GOAL as part of the government’s broader strategy to expand access to education and skills training. He pointed to free tuition at the University of Guyana, expanded technical and vocational programmes through the Board of Industrial Training, and ongoing efforts to achieve a fully trained teaching service.
