– Minister Croal tells Region One residents

DURING an outreach organised by the Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, residents of Santa Rosa, Region One, and other towns had the opportunity to sign up for scholarships under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) on Saturday.

Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley; Vice-chairperson, Annansha Peters and Santa Rosa Toshao, Stavros Stanley were also a part of the outreach, which was held at the Santa Rosa Secondary School.

Under this phase of the GOAL programme, persons without formal qualifications such as the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) can register for Certificate Programmes, which can pave the way for them to pursue Diplomas and Degrees.

Minister Croal stated that the education sector is crucial to Guyana’s development. He also noted that the GOAL programmes can be pursued by any age group and encouraged all to register.

The minister said that Region One has over 150 GOAL scholarship students to date. He also highlighted that some 14 ICT Hubs were completed in the region and will be used to aid students.

The first phase of the GOAL scholarship programme for 2023 was launched earlier this month in Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni – Mazaruni).

During this phase, certificate courses will be offered which require minimum or in some cases no prerequisite qualifications to enroll.

The certificate programmes offer more technical areas of study and will not only help to qualify more persons within the hinterland region to seek employment but will also allow them to develop skills to apply within their communities.

Areas of study include Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, Digital Marketing and E-Commerce, Joinery & Cabinet Making, Garment Construction, Photography, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Event Planning, Healthcare, Agricultural Technology, among others.