Government hoping to provide free education at UG by end of 2024—President Ali

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday evening announced that his Government is working to provide free education at the University of Guyana by the end of 2024.

The Head of State was at the time delivering a virtual address at Guyana’s 50th Republic Awards Ceremony and Cultural Presentation organised by the Guyana Consulate in Canada.

President Ali told his audience that his Government is working on creating a 21st-century education system in the country.

“We are providing 20,000 scholarships.  We hope to provide free education at the University of Guyana by the end of 2024.  In our Emergency Budget for 2020, we made provisions for doubling the uniform allowance and increasing, by 50%, the cash grant per student from $10,000 to $15,000.  We are committed to increasing this by almost 300% in the coming years.”

Despite the difficulties faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the President has prioritised education since entering Office in August.

Last week he told residents of the mountainous community of Kato in Region Eight (Potaro–Siparuni), that they will soon receive an Information Communication Technology (ICT) hub in their community, which will provide internet access.

The President, who had also announced the re-introduction of the One Laptop Per Family Initiative from 2021 during that visit, again mentioned it this evening as he underscored his Government’s hope of providing all Guyanese students with the necessary tools to prepare themselves for a competitive future.

President Ali said that the next decade in Guyana would be transformational in all aspects of development and that all Guyanese will benefit.  He told the audience about the improvements earmarked in health care, infrastructure and agriculture among other areas.

“This is just a snapshot of the plans which are unfolding in our country.  We are accelerating the pace at which we do things because we recognise that we need to ensure that the present generation benefits from development.” [Office of the President]