APNU/AFC had denied proposals to offer Coursera programme in Guyana

One month after the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) took office in August 2020, it opened up avenues for free Coursera courses through the Commonwealth of Learning, under which thousands of certificates have been issued.
But before this initiative started, the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Administration was approached to roll out the accredited modules in Guyana – a proposal which was refused several times. This revelation was made by Education Minister Priya Manickchand on Thursday during the budget debate.
She said the refusal came from then Education Minister Nicolette Henry, blocking Guyanese from accessing these courses during the pandemic.
“We have letters from the Commonwealth of Learning to [Henry], begging her. Every two months, they wrote her begging to roll out Coursera and it was not done. Coursera and the Commonwealth of Learning collaborated to offer courses for free to the people of the Commonwealth during COVID. It was a direct measure and response to COVID recovery. This Minister (Henry) refused to do it,” Manickchand disclosed to the House.

Over 43,000 certificates
The programme was officially launched by the PPP/C in September, and to date, Guyana ranks number one in the world for the highest number of persons enrolled and also for the degree of interest shown. In less than half a year, 53,301 persons have registered, 31,297 took courses and 43,305 certificates were issued.
“We launched it in September less than a month after I came into office. When we launched it, it was criticised by the Honourable Member, Amanda Walton-Desir…Right now, Guyana ranks number one in the world for interest in that online programme. Number one in the world for members enrolled. Number one in the world for graduates,” she revealed.
The Workforce Recovery Initiative is a response to the employment difficulties which have arisen owing to the current pandemic. It gives persons the opportunity to gain new knowledge and enhance their current capacity with certification from globally-recognised universities.
This initiative marks Coursera’s first institutional partnership in the Region and is part of a long-term commitment to helping citizens prepare for a digital future by providing 4000 free online courses on the Coursera platform in various areas such as art, business, computer science, health, social science and engineering.
“I have never seen anything like it across the world,” was the observation of Coursera Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff Maggioncalda last year on the response from Guyanese towards the Workforce Recovery Initiative.
Another area of workforce development that was introduced by the current Administration was the online training programme for teachers to prepare them to deliver education through the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
All educators from public and private schools, trainee teachers at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and lecturers at the University of Guyana (UG) were introduced to a 100-hour programme, facilitated by the Ministry through a partnership with the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the ProFuturo Foundation. Thus far, over 9000 teachers received training. (G12)