$ 1B allocation for online scholarships
Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Ashni Singh.
Kaieteur News – The Irfaan Ali administration is aiming to provide a large number of scholarships online through a $ 1 billion allocation in this year’s National Budget.
The revelation was made by the Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh. Presenting the National Budget last Friday in the National Assembly, Dr. Singh said that the government hopes to introduce an online learning organization with the vision of a top tier education system. The institution will award 20,000 scholarships over the next five years and, this year, the government plans to start implementing the initiative providing for the provision of over 4,500 scholarships.
“In 2021, we plan to start implementing this initiative, providing for the provision of over 4,500 scholarships through a multi-agency approach including the Ministry of Education, the Public Service Ministry and the Ministry of Labor,” Singh.
Last year, His Excellency Irfaan Ali had revealed that his administration would be looking to distribute some 5,000 online scholarships this year. He had also indicated that his administration will fulfill its manifesto promise, to roll out the 20,000 scholarships online over the next five years, starting from this year.
At the opening ceremony of Dr. Clinical Center Yesu Persaud, said, “We’re going to give 20,000 scholarships across our country, in all areas from next year … the first 5,000 will be available next year, and we’re already in discussion with more than 10 universities worldwide. ”
Furthermore, while there will be requirements to receive the scholarships, vulnerable people will also receive some form of choice as the government seeks to allow vulnerable people across the country to access tertiary education. This was stated by the Minister for Public Services, Sonia Parag.
In the meantime, Dr. Singh during his budget speech that the Government’s collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning and Coursera had already allowed her to offer more than 4,000 free online courses from various universities around the world. According to Dr. Singh, 64,605 citizens benefit from online courses offered by these two entities, to date, 8,481 participants are teachers who have enrolled or participated in at least one course.