VOLUNTEERISM REQUIRED FROM BENEFICIARIES OF GOAL SCHOLARSHIPS

Beneficiaries of the Government’s GOAL scholarships will only be required to offer volunteer work at non-governmental organizations. This clarification was offered by Education Minister Priya Manickchand.

Minister Manickchand says despite not being obligated to offer any years of service to government, some level of volunteerism will be required from those who benefit from the scholarships. She also explained that the volunteer work can be done with non Governmental organizations including religious entities.

“There is going to be a ..nice building out [of] a volunteer program where each successful applicant on the GOAL programme is going to have to commit to doing some volunteer work; not with Government – with NGO’s, faith based organizations, civil society organizations, Government, private sector...”

Minister Manickchand said a study will be conducted to monitor the percentage of candidates who choose to remain and serve in Guyana. The scholarships programme is a collaborative effort between the Ministries of Education and Public Service, offering 104 programmes from six international universities.