Pres Ali conferred with honorary doctorate from New Delhi university

President Dr Irfaan Ali was on Thursday conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy and Management Studies in recognition of his hard work, dedication, and responsible approach to leadership and development in Guyana.
He was bestowed with this Honorary Doctorate by his alma mater – the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in Delhi, India during a special ceremony.
President Ali was lauded as a “bright” alumni and role model for the partnerships he has created, his human resource management capability, and his commitment to continuous development.
In his address, the Guyanese Leader acknowledged the major role his lecturers, who motivated him to remain committed to his pursuit of education, as well as colleagues and friends, met during his tenure at the university, played in his development into the person he is today.

“Today, I accept this honor on behalf of all my teachers, lecturers and friends, and students of my batch. Today, they are all over the globe but wherever they are, I want them to know that they are part of who I am today, that they are part of whom I have become. To the faculty, I must be eternally grateful to you too. I honor you,” he posited.
The Head of State lauded the Indian education system, which he said requires discipline and commitment. He added that it was that very highly disciplined environment that taught him to be a better human.
“The education we received was not only academic, but it was also life-changing. It was preparing great minds to do great things in the humblest of ways. India has reinforced in me, the true meaning of humility; the true meaning of respect for elders, respect for parents and respect for the society in which we live,” he noted.
According to President Ali, the world today is constantly changing and presents many challenges – such as food security, climate security and energy security, among others. In the face of these, however, he said India continues to demonstrate its ability to be a positive change and a positive light.

“That is what I call a developed mind, a mature society, and a leader in the family of humanity. That is what defines who is a developed country and who is a developing country, not riches and wealth. Not the ability to demonstrate wealth, and riches, but the ability to serve humanity with dignity and honour; the ability to view humanity as part of one family – a collective whole in which all of us have a responsibility and a duty to make a difference,” the Guyanese Leader asserted.
He further stated that “…the value of education is nothing if we don’t understand the value of humanity.”
Meanwhile, President Ali also accepted an invitation from the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University to have Guyanese students study there.
In fact, the Head of State reassured the university officials that as soon as its new school opened to cater to online studies, the first batch of Guyanese students will be signed up.
“When the school that would allow online training begins its operation, we assure you of our partnership and we look forward to establishing an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the university so that we can have a logical pathway through which we enable this process,” he stated.
Moreover, it was also announced that 10 low-income Guyanese students will benefit from scholarships to study at the university, in keeping with the President’s commitment to partner with the school for the education of more Guyanese.
The Guyanese Leader informed the university that there are more than 6000 Guyanese currently on Government of Guyana scholarships who are studying online at various institutions in India as part of the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) initiative.
“Our development trajectory is to build an economy and a country in which education and health care is second to none globally. We are sparing no investment in ensuring that our health services and our education services are not only top quality, but it’s accessible and affordable to every single Guyanese… And we would be more than happy to work with you in various fields of engineering, petroleum, nursing, medical technologists, and pharmacists,” the Head of State indicated.