A Selection Committee will overlook the awarding of government-sponsored scholarships to ensure that they are distributed equitably across the regions and factions of society, says Public Service Minister, Sonia Parag.
She gave this assurance minutes before the National Assembly yesterday approved $2.256B for academic scholarships offered through the Ministry of Public Service. Parag told the House that the government will be awarding 4,500 scholarships to public servants, members of the Disciplinary Forces and two additional categories.
She added that the scholarship will be offered in several fields of study in keeping with the needs of the country. The Minister said that these 4,500 grants are in keeping with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) manifesto promise of 20,000 scholarships to Guyanese to enable their educational and professional advancement within the next five years.
In response to a question raised by her predecessor in the House, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, regarding the formulation of courses geared at filling skill gaps within the country, Parag said: “There is an ongoing process of a needs assessment being conducted in all agencies and based on that, the programmes will be selected…The process is ongoing and it will come to a completion very shortly to enable the rolling out of the 20,000 online scholarships.”
The Minister also said the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service will house the secretariat expected to administer the online scholarships. Minister Parag made this statement in response to another question posted by Sarabo-Halley’s about plans for the facility.
