Education Ministry launches programme targeting high school dropouts
The Ministry of Education yesterday launched its Get Ready for Opportunities to Work (GROW) programme aimed at offering a second chance to resident Guyanese who have not been able to complete their secondary education.
The scholarship programme will be offered to applicants at no cost under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).
This initiative aims to offer Guyanese, 18 years and over, who never had an opportunity to complete their secondary school education or obtained less than five passes in CSEC/GCE subjects (including Mathematics and English) the opportunity to matriculate to tertiary education, the Ministry said in a statement.
Applicants can either apply for a Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Levels 5 & 6 diploma or a General Education Development (GED) diploma.
The SCQF diploma is a comprehensive preparatory programme to be delivered within a three to six month period targeting applicants who have at least completed Grade Nine of their secondary education or sat the CSEC examination but did not obtain passes in 4 subjects. The students will study seven courses: Communications, Business, Mathematics with Excel, Behavioural Management, Marketing, Introductory Economics, and
International Relations.
The Diploma is internationally accredited and is offered by the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) in partnership with Jain University, India. The SQA is the national awarding body in Scotland responsible for the development, accreditation and certification of qualifications.
SQA was established and constituted by the Education (Scotland) Act in 1996. Upon completing the programme, students will be able to enroll in Bachelor’s Degree programmes in Humanities; Commerce; Business and Management; Computer Science and Information Technology at Jain University or any other University accepting SCQF’s qualifications.
Meanwhile, the Ministry says that the GED Diploma is offered through Texila American University (Guyana) and other partners. It is an intensive three months programme targeting applicants who were unable to write or who did not attain passes in five subjects at the CXC/CSEC level. The GED is equivalent to the United States of America High School Diploma.
Students who choose the GED Diploma will be exposed to four core areas: Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts. On successful completion of the GED programme, students will be able to matriculate to a four-year Bachelor’s degree programme at
Texila University, Guyana or any other University that accepts GED qualifications.
All classes will be conducted online during evening hours to accommodate students who work during the daytime while examinations will also be conducted online at the end of the programme.