Pres. Ali to GOAL graduates: “This is more than a graduation – It’s a revolution in education”
President Dr. Irfaan Ali, during the feature address to graduates of the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), declared that the programme is “more than a graduation – it’s a revolution in education.”
The historic two-day graduation ceremony, the largest in the programme’s history, began today at the National Stadium. A total of 580 students were conferred with Master’s degrees, while Tuesday’s session will celebrate graduates who attained Bachelor’s degrees, postgraduate diplomas, and specialised certificates under the initiative.
Addressing the hundreds in attendance and thousands more whose lives have been touched by the scholarship programme, President Ali said the GOAL initiative is a bold affirmation that education is a right, not a privilege, and that every Guyanese, regardless of background, deserves a chance to shine.
“Today is not just a celebration of academic achievement,” the President said. “It is a reaffirmation of the belief that learning—real, determined, committed learning is still one of the most powerful forces for personal and national progress.”
President Ali recounted the foundation of the GOAL programme, noting that it was never just about degrees or certificates, but about creating access doors for those who had long been excluded from higher education – single parents, rural residents, and those juggling jobs and family obligations.
“We asked, what if education could adapt to people’s lives instead of the other way around? GOAL was born as a revolutionary idea to bring learning into homes, into phones, into the routines of ordinary Guyanese with extraordinary dreams.”
Since its inception, GOAL has awarded scholarships to over 30,000 Guyanese, with more than 70 per cent of recipients being women. During the ceremony, the President invited all female graduates to stand in a moving moment that visually demonstrated the programme’s success in advancing women’s empowerment and gender equity.
“This is what empowering women looks like. This is what it feels like,” he declared, as the crowd erupted in applause.
The President highlighted that GOAL is now more than a scholarship programme, he said it has become a national movement driving human capital development across sectors.
“We’re not just talking about roads and bridges,” he explained. “We’re talking about the engineers who can design them. We’re not just talking about digital transformation, we need coders, data analysts, and IT specialists. Every industry in Guyana needs more qualified people, and today, you’ve answered that call.”
He noted that in the public service, qualifications attained through GOAL translate directly into salary increases and career growth, highlighting a shift toward a performance-based system built on education and excellence.
The President made it clear that the success of the programme lies not just in policy, but in partnerships with international universities, supportive employers, families, and most of all, the resilience of the students themselves.
“Many of you balanced classes, jobs, parenting, and late-night studying. You stayed the course. You are the face of a new Guyana.”
He urged graduates to use their education not only to better their personal lives but to become agents of change in their communities.
“We need you to stay. We need you to build. We need you to lead in your homes, workplaces, religious spaces, and villages. Because the future of Guyana lies not in oil barrels or buildings, but in people like you.”
