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Texila American University, Guyana (TAU), now recognizes courses completed by students on the online platform, Coursera, and has created opportunities for them to save time and money while learning there.
The Director of Recruitment at TAU, Mr. Sreebala Kumar, made this announcement at an event held at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development on December 15, 2020.
Hon. Ms. Priya Manickchand, the Minister of Education, exclaimed that the recognition is a major advancement in education and said, “That is the type of innovation that we’d like to see happening across the education sector. I would hope that the University of Guyana is going to pay attention and see how they too can use these courses that Guyanese citizens have done and have graduated in and determine how that could enhance what they offer as a University.”
The opportunity for online learning through Coursera has its genesis in an initial agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Commonwealth of Learning in September.
The Ministry of Education embarked on this initiative to provide educational opportunities for the nation as part of a workforce recovery program, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced school closures, hampering education.
She continued, “This idea that people can stay home and get qualified from universities that are renown across the world in more than 4,000 areas seemed to really capture the imagination of Guyanese.”
Currently, 51,000 Guyanese are registered on Coursera, some from as young as 13 years old to as old as 70. Furthermore, around 32,912 certificates have been issued to 8,054 students.
This means that thousands of Guyanese have upskilled to meet the demands of the growing economy and are more equipped with the skills needed for a dynamic job market.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director (Ag) of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Mr. Joel Bhagwandin, lauded the Ministry of Education for its unwavering efforts in creating opportunities for learning.
In September, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Service, and the PSC inked an MoU to recognize the certificates.
Students at Texila American University who have completed Coursera courses can benefit in the following ways:
- Coursera courses as a prerequisite of the program entry (Eligibility)
- Students with non-science qualifications can use these courses as eligibility/prequalification for admissions for BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration; minimum of four credits) apart from five CSEC subjects
- Credit exemptions
- Direct evaluation of the course model (final exam)
Students who wish to earn TAU credits can take the final exam using the defined credits of Coursera
- Redeem your Coursera credits (fee discount program)
TAU will redeem students who have qualifications from Coursera for courses for the BBA/BPH programs. Each certificate will enable a student to receive a US$30–50 ($6,000–$10,000) discount from the total cost of the program with a maximum of 12 credits.
This is a wonderful initiative. We request Coursera students to make use of this opportunity to explore better career growth with ease!
This article was originally published on dpi.gov.gy.
