—President Ali urges new UG graduates apply their knowledge uplift others, drive national progress

PRESIDENT Ali has urged the University of Guyana’s newest graduates to apply their knowledge with purpose, uplift their communities, and help drive national development.

Addressing the cohort via a broadcast message on Friday, he emphasised that their achievements come with a responsibility to contribute meaningfully to Guyana’s ongoing transformation and to ensure that progress is shared by all.

“Development depends on people who are accomplished, qualified and future ready. The Guyana we are building needs engineers and educators, innovators and entrepreneurs, health professionals and policy thinkers, with these citizens equipped with knowledge, skills and values to propel our country forward,” the President said.

The government, he noted, envisions a nation where the graduates, equipped with advanced skills, would shape a globally competitive, technologically advanced, and environmentally responsible Guyana.

“Our economy is expanding, our infrastructure is growing, and our society is evolving in ways once thought impossible, yet the real engine of this transformation is not oil or investment. It is people. It is you. Transformation demands skills,” the president noted.

Graduates were also urged to adopt a lifelong learning mindset, essential for a modern, knowledge-driven Guyana.

“A world-class university is not measured by its enrolment figures, but by the impact of its graduates, by their capacity to drive national transformation. To achieve this, you must embrace a new mindset. Learning must never end. Education cannot stop at graduation,” he added.

Meanwhile, the President noted that as global change accelerates and technology advances by the day, industries are being transformed almost instantly and in this rapidly shifting landscape, the most critical skill has become the capacity to continually learn, adapt, and upgrade one’s abilities.

“Guyana requires modern skills. This is why we must build not only an economy of resources, but a culture of competence, you are the generation that will shape the workforce of a new Guyana.”

Such a future, he said will depend on the advancement of the nation’s academia.

“You are the heartbeat of a new and modern Guyana, educated, empowered and ever evolving future is not just before you. It will be built by you. Keep learning, keep growing, keep transforming,” he encouraged, adding:

“Your education has empowered you now. Let your learning empower others, let your curiosity drive change, let your ideas move Guyana forward.”

The government earlier this year moved to abolish tuition fees to the tertiary institutions, a policy which the president says emphasises the importance of free education as a nation-building investment, ensuring access and excellence.

“That is why the introduction of free tertiary education at the University of Guyana marks a bolster in our national journey. Free University education is a nation-building investment and every Guyanese, regardless of background, aspires to higher learning.”

Nearly 3,600 students are being conferred with degrees, marking the largest graduating class in the institution’s 62-year history.

Graduation ceremonies began on Thursday and will continue today at the Turkeyen Campus; meanwhile, in December, six sessions are scheduled for graduates of the Berbice Tain, Corentyne Campus.