Connectivity removing geography as barrier to education, PM Phillips says at GOAL graduation

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d), Mark Phillips, said national connectivity has been central to ensuring that the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) can reach Guyanese across all regions, including those in hinterland, remote and riverine communities.

Delivering the keynote address at GOAL’s fourth graduation ceremony on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Phillips said the programme’s success reflects the Government’s commitment to investing in people and removing barriers to opportunity.

He recalled the measures the Government put in place to ensure widespread access to online learning when the GOAL programme was being established.

“We had to ensure that the people in every region, every community could get online and benefit from the courses offered by GOAL.”

Achieving this task was no easy feat. The Prime Minister recalled visiting a number of hinterland and remote communities in 2020 during the election campaign and witnessing the lack of internet access, which is key for educational opportunities. This drive by the Government to ensure equal opportunity for all Guyanese has revolutionised internet connectivity in Guyana.

“Between 2020 and 2025, we were able to achieve 100% connectivity with every community throughout the length and breadth of Guyana, coastland and hinterland.”

Improved connectivity, Prime Minister Phillips added, has been a game‑changer in making GOAL accessible to citizens in communities that were once limited by distance and poor or no internet access.
“In every community we have at least one Starlink device making connections possible, so we have been able to have GOAL delivered in every community.”

The Prime Minister’s remarks align with the wider digital inclusion work being advanced through the Office of the Prime Minister, via the National Data Management Authority (NDMA). Through the LEO WiFiGY programme, all 253 Indigenous villages across Guyana have been connected to public high‑speed internet, which has benefitted more than 135,000 residents in hinterland, remote and riverine communities.

The initiative has strengthened access to online learning, allowing residents in communities far from the coast to benefit from educational opportunities without having to leave their villages.

Prime Minister Phillips said this access is especially important because education remains one of the strongest tools for national development.

“Education is the catalyst that makes those possibilities real, and that is why our Government has placed education at the centre of national development.”