Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana Riding on the Crest of Truth
Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 May 2022, 23:34 by Denis Chabrol
The Guyana government on Wednesday announced that Guyanese, who were unable to complete their secondary education or obtained less than five CSEC or GCE subjects including English and Mathematics, would be given an opportunity to be qualified and eventually pave the way for tertiary education.
“This scholarship programme is being offered to applicants at no cost and will be done under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL),” the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand said.
The Government of Guyana said the Get Ready for Opportunities to Work (GROW) initiative offers a second chance to resident Guyanese 18 years and older who have not been able to complete their secondary education.
According to government, applicants must have access to a laptop, tablet computer and the Internet. “All classes will be conducted online during evening hours to accommodate students who work during the daytime while examinations will also be conducted online at the end of the programme.”
To apply, a copy of an applicant’s CSEC results or Secondary School report card is required along with a copy of photo ID.
Applicants can either apply for a Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Levels 5 & 6 diploma or a General Education Development (GED) diploma.
Government said the SCQF diploma is a comprehensive preparatory programme to be delivered within three to six months and would target applicants who have at least completed Grade nine of their secondary education or sat the CSEC examination but did not obtain pass in 4 subjects. The students will study seven courses: Communications, Business, Mathematics with Excel, Behavioural Management, Marketing, Introductory Economics, and International Relations.
“The Diploma is internationally accredited and is offered by the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) in partnership with Jain University, India. The SQA is the national awarding body in Scotland responsible for the development, accreditation and certification of qualifications,” government said.
SQA was established and constituted by the Education (Scotland) Act in 1996.
“Upon completing the programme, students will be able to enroll in Bachelor’s Degree programmes in Humanities; Commerce; Business and Management; Computer Science and Information Technology at Jain University or any other University accepting SCQF’s qualifications,” government added.
Meanwhile, the General Educational Development (GED) Diploma is offered through Texila American University (Guyana) and other partners. It is an intensive three months programme targeting applicants who were unable to write or who did not attain passes in five (5) subjects at the CXC/CSEC level. The GED is equivalent to the United States of America High School Diploma.
Students who choose the GED Diploma will be exposed to four core areas: Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts. “On successful completion of the GED programme, students will be able to matriculate to four year Bachelor’s degree programmes at Texila University, Guyana or any other University that accepts GED qualifications,” government said;.
Interested persons can register on the GOAL website (www.goal.edu.gy) or using the GOAL portal:
For the SCQF programme: https://govofguyana.smapply.io/prog/scqf_registration_form_2022
or
For the GED programme: https://govofguyana.smapply.io/prog/ged_registration_form_2022
These programmes fall under the Government of Guyana’s 20,000 Online Scholarship Initiative.