Parag fires back at GOAL critic, says opposition MP benefited from programme he now condemns
Education Minister Sonia Parag on Monday mounted a sharp defence of the Government’s Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), accusing opposition MP Gordon Barker of hypocrisy during the opening of the Budget 2026 debates.
Parag’s response came after Barker, delivering his maiden speech in the National Assembly, described the GOAL programme as a potential “atrocity,” citing what he claimed were shortcomings in planning, oversight and certainty for students. The minister countered by pointing out that Barker himself benefited from the very initiative he was criticising.
“You never ever bite the hand that you feed from,” Parag told the House, noting that Barker earned academic qualifications through GOAL, including a degree from Jain Deemed-to-be University and later progressed to doctoral studies under the programme.
Barker, who introduced himself as the Shadow Minister of Education, also raised concerns about other areas within the sector, including the National School Feeding Programme, the Teaching Service Commission, the YASS Special Needs School and public school infrastructure. His remarks were later followed by APNU MP Coretta McDonald, as opposition parties continue to navigate internal arrangements for sharing their parliamentary responsibilities.
Parag dismissed the presentations from the opposition benches as unconvincing and turned to data to rebut the criticism of GOAL. She reminded the Assembly that more than 54,000 Guyanese were awarded programmes under the initiative between 2021 and 2025, with about 6,000 persons graduating in 2025 alone.
Launched in 2021, GOAL was designed to expand access to tertiary and skills-based education through online learning, partnering with local and international institutions. The programme has already surpassed its original target of 20,000 scholarships.
In endorsing the $183 billion education allocation for 2026, Parag said the budget reflected the government’s long-standing priority for the sector. “A budget crafted for the people, written by the people and grounded firmly in the hopes and aspirations of the Guyanese people,” she said.
Addressing McDonald directly, Parag recalled statements made in 2018 when McDonald, then General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers Union, was critical of the APNU+AFC administration, arguing that conditions for teachers improve under a PPP/C government.
The minister also pointed to continued investments in school infrastructure, the University of Guyana student loan write-off programme and the Because We Care cash grant as evidence of sustained support for education over the past five years and into the next term.
