GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC)— The Government of Guyana is planning to provide free education to students attending the University of Guyana, by the end of 2024.

The announcement was made on Sunday by President Dr Irfaan Ali as he delivered a virtual address at the Guyana’s 50th Republic Awards Ceremony and Cultural Presentation organised by the Guyana Consulate in Canada on Sunday night

 Ali disclosed that his administration 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 per cent, the cash grant per student from $10,000 to $15,000. We are committed to increasing this by almost 300 per cent in the coming years.”

Since taking over the reins of the country in August, the President has placed education on his list of top priorities. 

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, on Sunday, again underscored his Government’s hope of providing all Guyanese students with the necessary tools to prepare themselves for a competitive future.

Ali said that the next decade in Guyana would be transformational in all aspects of development and that all Guyanese will benefit.

“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.”

Presently, education is free from nursery to secondary levels at all Guyana state-run schools.