The Ministry of Education yesterday said that over 24,000 Guyanese have registered for online learning on global platform Coursera and the deadline for applications has now been extended to October 31, 2020.
On September 4, 2020 the Ministry announced its collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning to provide free access to online courses to the general population offered by Ivy League and other reputable universities through Coursera.
A release yesterday from the ministry said that following the September 4th launch, as of September 9, 2020, 24, 498 Guyanese have registered on the platform and 161 persons have already completed their courses or graduated. The initial deadline for registration was September 30, 2020.
The release noted that the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand had engaged the Commonwealth of Learning and explained that because of the prolonged election process and the country’s failure to take up the offer previously, Guyanese were not on equal footing with the rest of the Commonwealth and would therefore be disadvantaged.
Coupled with the tremendous response and interest, the Minister of Education sought an extension of the deadline.
Several Caribbean countries have benefited from this programme and will have their citizens graduate on September 22, 2020, the release said. The Minister of Education has been invited to speak at that ceremony.
Guyanese who wish to register on the platform can visit the website: www.education.gov.gy/upskill
The online launch video can be found on the Ministry of Education’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/LearningCh/videos/236067911180960/ .
