Residents of Region Three will soon have closer access to advanced engineering studies as President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Sunday announced that the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology will establish a branch at the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Centre in the region.

The announcement came during a People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) rally at Stewartville, where the President shared that a group of aspiring civil engineering students had complained to him that they were unable to secure seats at the university due to limited capacity.

“Some young kids came to me and they said ‘we applied to do civil engineering at the University of Guyana’ and they were told that they’re out of seats,” he said.

In response, Dr Ali announced plans to create additional capacity through the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system.

“We will build the seats in the Tvet centre and give you the faculty of engineering,” President Ali declared.

Highlighting his party’s commitment to breaking down barriers to education, he added, “No longer must ‘no’ be the answer for the children of our country. We will break every barrier and give them the opportunity.”

Just last week, the President announced that the newly commissioned Tuschen Secondary School will not only serve 800 secondary students, but will also be transformed into a branch of the UG’s College of Medical Sciences (CMS) in the evenings, providing aspiring health professionals in Region Three with access to training closer to home.

The President explained that the UG medical branch will offer over 17 programmes in medicine and allied health sciences, giving residents from across the Essequibo and Demerara rivers, and as far as Leguan.