STARTING from January 2025, tuition fees at the University of Guyana (UG), the country’s premier tertiary education institute, will be abolished, President Dr. Irfaan said on Thursday.

The Head of State made this disclosure during a special sitting of the National Assembly, where he announced a slew of bold measures aimed at creating more disposable income for the populace, and addressing the rising cost of living.

“Starting from the January 2025 semester, tuition fees will be completely abolished at the University of Guyana. This will continue the advancement of our human capital for a more prosperous future for our country, and for all of the young people who will benefit from this initiative and their family. This measure will benefit in excess of 11,000 current students immediately, and, of course, all the new entrants in the future,” President Ali said.

The delivery of free tertiary education has been a hallmark of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Manifesto.

“The future belongs to all of these young people,” the Head of State said.
This would cost in excess of $18 billion.

It was recently disclosed that by the end of this year, the government will write off in excess of $5 billion in student debt owed to UG.

At a recent press conference, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed that the government had successfully written off $203.7 million in student loans thus far.

This, he said, has benefitted approximately 346 students, noting: “It is anticipated that another 2,900 would also get their debts written off.”

Jagdeo went on to say that this would be at the cost of just about $5 billion. There is about $18 billion of debt owed by students for the past 20 years to UG.

“The only condition for you to be eligible for this write-off is being here in Guyana… I want to urge the students who have outstanding debts to just apply for the write-off, so that we can proceed with doing so,” the PPP General Secretary said.

Back in May, the government had announced Phase One of its plan to erase loans of UG students. The government had said it would write off all loans owed by Guyanese who can demonstrate that they completed their studies, graduated, and were employed in Guyana for a minimum of three years.