GOAL scholarship awardees to be selected by July

The Education and Public Services ministries will select awardees of the Guyana Online Academy for Learning (GOAL) scholarships from over 8,500 applications by July.

With the deadline for submissions gone, Education Minister Priya Manickchand told Stabroek News that over 8,500 applications have been received and are currently being processed by the two ministries, which are collaborating to select the persons who will benefit from the scholarships. Public Service Minister Sonia Parag added that the ministries are working assiduously to have the outcome of the evaluation known to the recipients by July. The ministers have mentioned that some of the programmes will start in the second week in July.

Manickchand, via telephone, explained that the applications are being processed according to each applicant’s submissions. She said that the applicants had three study choices and if they do not qualify for their first choice, then the second choice will be examined before moving on to the third choice if the applicant does not meet the requirements the university has.

She said that she is aware that over 8,500 applications were submitted and have to be examined before they are passed on to the Ministry of Public Service for the scholarship aspects to be considered.

When Parag was contacted, she said that she is certain that scholarships awardees will have adequate time to prepare for their classes. According to Parag, the

Public Service Ministry will be awarding the scholarships based on a shortlist, which is being prepared by the Ministry of Education. She said that her ministry then decides that persons are eligible for scholarships if they meet several different criteria. She added that a panel will be formed and Dr Jacob Opadeyi, GOAL’s Director, will be a part of the panel which makes this decision.

In one of Parag’s responses to questions during last Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly, Parag said that the process will be conducted in a manner that is consistent with fairness. She related that several critical factors will be considered based on the selected programme and based on data extracted from the applications. Also, special attention will be placed on regional balance so as to ensure citizens in the hinterland and rural communities are well served.

GOAL is the institution tasked with managing the overall operational and functional components of the 20,000 free online scholarship initiative over the next five years. The two ministries held negotiations with five accredited and recognized institutions — the Indira Gandhi Open University, the Jain University, the University of Applied Sciences, the University of Southern Caribbean and the University of the West Indies Open Campus – where the awardees will study.