HGP Nightly News – A pointed exchange regarding the government’s flagship online scholarship programme marked the commencement of the 2026 budget debates in the National Assembly on Monday, as the Minister of Education publicly accused an opposition parliamentarian of hypocrisy.
The controversy arose following the maiden parliamentary speech by Dr. Gordon Barker, the recently designated Shadow Minister of Education for the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party.
In his presentation, Dr. Barker characterized the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme, which provides free tertiary-level online scholarships, as a “potential atrocity.”In a swift rebuttal, Minister of Education Sonia Parag levelled a significant allegation against the opposition MP.
Minister Parag asserted that Dr. Barker had personally benefited from the very programme he criticized, having earned both a prior degree and a subsequent PhD through GOAL scholarships. “The Honourable member stood there and talked about the atrocity of this programme, but the Honourable member got his degree from the Jain Deemed-to-be University on the GOAL programme. Shocked. And moved on to a PhD on the GOAL. Extremely shocked,” Minister Parag stated, adding, “You never ever bite the hand that you feed from.”
The Minister’s remarks framed the critique as a direct contradiction, questioning the MP’s standing to challenge an initiative from which he is alleged to have derived substantial personal educational advancement. Minister Parag further defended the GOAL programme with quantitative data, noting that over 54,000 Guyanese have been awarded scholarships between 2021 and 2025, with approximately 6,000 graduating in 2025 alone.
She emphasized that the initiative has vastly exceeded its original target of 20,000 scholarships, positioning it as a cornerstone of the government’s policy to expand access to tertiary and skills-based education across the nation.
The parliamentary exchange also highlighted the ongoing realignment of opposition roles following the 2025 elections. Dr. Barker’s introduction as Shadow Minister of Education indicated a shift in portfolio assignment within the opposition benches, a move observed as the three opposition parties continue to navigate their shared parliamentary representation.
