First batch of Jain graduates grateful for opportunity

SIXTY-THREE students

from the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) Scholarship cohort of 2021 have completed their Post Graduate Diploma programme at Jain University in India, representing the first batch of academic graduates from there.

They began their studies in November 2021 and went through the rigors of attending live courses at the university, sitting exams, and presenting and successfully defending (Viva Voce) their theses, according to GOAL.

The Sunday Chronicle spoke with some students who related that they were “lucky” and “happy” to be selected for the scholarship and to be the first batch of academic graduates from the university.

Their areas of studies were either Human Resource (HR) management or general management.

Vickash Basdeo, a 35-year-old procurement officer at the Ministry of Labour (MoL), completed his postgraduate diploma in HR management.

He explained that HR management was always a passion of his despite his current job.

“I’ve always had my eyes on the human resource sector. It’s something that drives the passion within me from way back. So, I got the opportunity and when I saw the programme, I applied for it and I was selected and was very happy when I was selected,” he said.

He added: “I had not too long completed my bachelor’s degree in public management from the University of Guyana. So, I wanted to further my studies…so right away, I just jumped on it.”

Basdeo, who was accustomed to receiving in-person education, was challenged with adapting to the new online environment.

Due to the time difference, classes were held on Zoom and began around 20:00 hrs and ended around 22:00hrs, according to him.

Basdeo said he made a great decision by deciding to study through GOAL and to his surprise, he faced little to no challenges despite the language barrier.

He said the professors not only made it simple for them, but were also patient and vice versa.

“They always made sure before the end of every session, if there were any questions, that they were answered…so I cannot think of any challenges with regards [sic] to tutoring during that period,” he said.

According to Basdeo, if he is given a similar opportunity he would not hesitate to study at Jain University again, but he is taking a break and plans to pursue his Master’s in the future.

He said that he was never a recipient of any other scholarship, and advised young people that would like to either further their tertiary education to go for it.

“It is a wonderful experience…I tried to make friends, you know, form a team so that we could work together at all times. It is a wonderful experience to go with GOAL and I would advise young people that [sic] are looking to further their studies to push on.”

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