HGP Nightly News – Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall has hailed the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarship programme as a transformative national initiative, revealing that more than 54,000 scholarships have been awarded since the programme was launched in 2021.
Speaking during his weekly programme Issues in the News on Tuesday evening, Nandlall said the government-funded initiative has already produced more than 14,000 graduates, while another 35,000 persons remain enrolled in programmes under GOAL.
“As a matter of background information, I am proud to inform you that since the establishment of the GOAL scholarship programme in 2021, 54,793 scholarships were issued to date,” Nandlall said.
He added that “a total of 14,017 persons have already graduated” and “35,000 are currently enrolled on the GOAL scholarship programme.”
Nandlall described the figures as evidence of what he believes is one of the largest state-funded scholarship programmes in the region.
“I say, respectfully, that this must be the largest government-sponsored or government-funded scholarship programme, definitely in the West Indies, and I would dare say perhaps throughout the entire British Commonwealth,” he declared.
The Attorney General used the opportunity not only to promote the programme’s growth, but also to revisit the political battle that surrounded its launch four years ago.
According to Nandlall, the initiative was heavily criticized by opposition parties, including APNU and the AFC, when it was first introduced in 2021.
“It was mocked. It was ridiculed. It was criticized. It was laughed at,” he said, accusing opposition figures of attempting to discourage supporters from participating in the programme.
Nandlall claimed that members of the government had to travel into communities traditionally aligned with the opposition to encourage residents to take advantage of the scholarships and to explain the value of academic certification in a rapidly changing economy.
He recalled visiting villages such as Buxton, Golden Grove, Bachelor’s Adventure, Better Hope, Plaisance and Ann’s Grove to speak directly with residents.
According to the Attorney General, government officials used those engagements to counter what he described as harmful political messaging aimed at discrediting the programme.
He argued that the success of the initiative is now visible in the number of graduates emerging from communities across the country.
“Today, these persons are graduating in the thousands, and by the thousands,” Nandlall said.
He pointed to the recent graduation of Attorney-at-Law Darren Wade as one example of the programme’s reach, saying it reflected the impact of the government’s efforts to persuade even opposition supporters to sign on.
Nandlall also accused critics of trying to undermine not only the scholarship initiative itself, but also the institutions offering the courses.
“They tried to ridicule the programme. They tried to ridicule the universities that were offering the courses of study,” he said.
The GOAL programme was launched by the government as part of a broader effort to expand access to tertiary and professional education, particularly through online learning and partnerships with overseas institutions.
Since its rollout, it has become one of the administration’s flagship education initiatives and a recurring point of political contention between the government and opposition parties.
In his remarks, Nandlall framed the programme as more than an education policy, casting it as proof that the government’s push to widen access to higher learning has survived both skepticism and political resistance.
