-President Ali says at launch of Guyana Coursera Platform; emphasises PPP/C government’s dedication to making first-class education accessible to all Guyanese

SINCE education has been proven to be a catalyst in bringing forth socio-economic growth, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday proudly remarked that first-class education has been achieved and is now accessible to every single citizen in this country.

During the official launch of the Guyana Coursera Platform, President Ali reflected on how far Guyana has come in developing its human resources.

In his feature address, the President gave some insight into the type of system the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government met with when they assumed office in August, 2020.

He said: “You’ve heard that we came into office at the onset, almost the onset of COVID. With nothing in place, not only was the health sector ill-prepared…to deal with COVID, we did not have a single bed prepared to deal with COVID… but the education sector was also not prepared in any way, shape or form to deal with the consequential effect of COVID.”

Owing to “carefully articulated” policies crafted by the PPP/C administration, this allowed education to be delivered in every corner of the country.

Moreover, according to him, Guyana stands out as one of the few countries globally, that did not have a structural regression in its education system during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

As he pointed out that workers even put their health on the line to ensure that this goal was met, President Ali said: “…We as a caring government, as your government, spared no effort or resource to ensure the students of this country and the people of this country remain in a learning environment.”

WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION

President Ali continued to reflect on how the PPP/C administration has lifted Guyana off of its feet and placed it on the path to prosperity.

He then said: “But let me make this very clear. Three years ago…Minister Manickchand will recall that we shared a forum, when I said that we will deliver first world, first-class education in this country. But that is not all that we said. We said we will deliver first-class, first-world education accessible to every citizen of this country.”

“Today, we can celebrate the accomplishment of this vision.”

Even with attempts by detractors of development to cast doubt on this goal, the Head of State said that his government stayed committed to the task.

“I say every day, let our results do the talking, lock away the noise and let the results do the talking,” President Ali told the large crowd.

As he expounded on the plans that will place Guyana on a renowned stage, Dr Ali further related: “We are now looking to position Guyana as the main hub for Latin America and the Caribbean, for Coursera and what we have to offer in this region, to do this. We have to work on building a diversified platform that will cater for all languages and all requirements of the region.”

With an audience largely made up of young people, President Ali seized the opportunity to give them words of encouragement.

“It is okay to dream but your dream can be stop dead or become unrealised [if] the system does not support the [attainment of the] dream. Today in Guyana every citizen can dream of being educated. Every citizen can dream of a second chance, every citizen that dream about empowerment of education and receive that empowerment because of the policy formulation of the government,” he told them.

Putting things into perspective of how Guyana has transformed, he noted that 800 students are on the training assistant programme.
While in many societies most of them, according to the President, would be written off because they did not possess five or more Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects, under the PPP/C government these persons are not being left behind.

“…Today through our policies, through the partnership with Coursera, and other entities, they can now train as a nursing assistant, receive a stipend and be guaranteed a job with a good salary…” Dr Ali said.

Moreover, the President urged the private sector to get on board with the Coursera platform and get all of their employees registered on a programme.

The Head of State said: “Let us go on a national drive to flood the platform by next Friday…Push the government to do more for you.”

Additionally, President Ali highlighted that when the PPP/C came into office, there was still a monopoly on telecommunications.

According to him, in August 2020, Guyana was paying US$950 per megabit of data. However, now Guyana is paying less than US$50 per megabit.

With detractors of development always finding fault, Dr Ali said, with no hesitation, that with Coursera, 72 per cent of the 69,000 persons on the platform study on their cellphone which uses data.

Thus, the ordinary man benefits from the aforementioned initiatives within the telecommunication sector.

TRANSFORMATION

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Coursera, Jeff Maggioncalda, said that he noticed Guyana during COVID, when country by country, campuses were closing and he commended President Ali for making a massive investment to develop the citizens.

“It’s exciting for me to be here in Guyana, a country undergoing an incredible economic transformation under the energetic leadership of President Irfaan Ali. His administration is making a pivotal investment to ensure that the nation’s prosperity is shared by all of its citizens,” he said.

The CEO added that this will be the kind of transformative effort that few countries in the world have ever experienced, where education and skill development are not just priorities, but the very foundation of the nation’s future.

He stated that through their partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning and Guyana’s Ministry of Education, Guyana has set a record among all of the countries on Coursera.

“We saw 15,000 enrollments from Guyanese learners, almost two per cent of the entire population of the country in the first 10 days. Over 46,000, Guyanese citizens have learned new skills through the programme, earning over 50,000 certificates in job-related fields including business, technology, and data science,” he stated.

Moreover, United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, commended the Government of Guyana for ensuring that every Guyanese has access to education.

She said: “Guyana is transforming right before our eyes and in order to sustain this trajectory of growth and development, while ensuring inclusion, it’s critical that every Guyanese person is equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to take part in this incredible success story.”

The Ambassador also noted: “Education has always been the cornerstone of progress and development in any society. It is the key that unlocks doors of opportunity and empowers individuals to pursue their dreams. However, in today’s rapidly evolving world, relying solely on traditional methods of education is no longer sufficient.”