University of Guyana to Graduate More Than 3,700 at 60th Convocation
GUYANA · EDUCATION
Key Facts
- —The country Guyana, an English-speaking nation of about 836,000 people on South America’s north coast, has pumped oil only since December 2019.
- —The background Oil output averaged about 902,000 barrels a day in early 2026, and the state spends part of the windfall on education.
- —Why now The University of Guyana announced at the weekend that more than 3,700 students will graduate at its 60th convocation in November.
- —What happened Ceremonies run on 17 and 18 November at the main Turkeyen campus, 20 November in Berbice and 28 November for extra-mural students.
- —The numbers The 2026 budget gave the University of Guyana G$14.5 billion (US$69 million), short of the G$21.2 billion (US$101 million) it requested.
- —What it means for you Employers in Guyana’s oil-driven economy gain a larger pool of local graduates, useful under rules reserving some oil-sector work for Guyanese firms.
- —Still open Whether funding keeps pace with enrolment since tuition became free in 2025. One opposition lawmaker wants scholarship money moved to the university.
The University of Guyana will confer degrees, diplomas and certificates on more than 3,700 students at its 60th convocation in November. The university, which announced the schedule at the weekend, calls it one of the largest classes in its 63-year history.
The class graduates into an economy reshaped by oil, which Guyana has pumped only since December 2019. The government made the university tuition-free in January 2025 and has funded tens of thousands of online scholarships to build local skills.
Who Graduates, Where and When
Four ceremonies are planned at the Sattaur and Ameena Gafoor Multipurpose Auditorium on the Turkeyen campus in Greater Georgetown. The timetable was published by the Guyana Chronicle and Kaieteur News.
On the morning of Tuesday 17 November, the Faculty of Engineering and Technology graduates alongside the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation. The afternoon belongs to the natural sciences, medical sciences, earth and environmental sciences, and agriculture and forestry.
Education and the humanities follow on the morning of Wednesday 18 November. That afternoon’s final ceremony covers social sciences, distance education, behavioural sciences and an institute for strategic security.
Berbice Campus graduates at Tain, in eastern Guyana, receive their awards on the university lawns on Friday 20 November at 15:00. Extra-mural students of the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education close the season on Saturday 28 November.
Families abroad can watch from afar. All ceremonies will be streamed on the university’s Facebook page and its own broadcasting service, iNews Guyana reported.
A Class Slightly Bigger Than Last Year’s
In October 2025 the University of Guyana expected close to 3,600 graduates, then the largest batch in its history. Those ceremonies ran from 20 to 22 November 2025 at Turkeyen and on 6 December in Berbice.
On the university’s own round figures, this year’s class is at least 100 larger. The university now counts more than 73,000 graduates since it opened in 1963, up from the 70,000-plus it cited a year ago.
Guyana had about 836,000 people in 2025, by the World Bank’s count. This year’s class therefore equals roughly one new graduate for every 225 residents.
Why Oil Raised the Stakes for the University of Guyana
ExxonMobil found oil off Guyana’s coast in 2015, and production began in December 2019. Output averaged about 902,000 barrels a day in the first half of 2026, according to the government’s mid-year report.
Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said in late September that output now exceeds 900,000 barrels a day, OilPrice reported. Oil helped lift economic growth to 33.3 percent in the first half of 2026, President Irfaan Ali said in September.
The government wants Guyanese workers and companies to capture more of that wealth. Under the Local Content Act, some oil-sector work is reserved for Guyanese businesses.
Those businesses earned US$466.2 million from oil and gas procurement in the first half of 2026, the state-owned Guyana Chronicle reported.
The university has tried to keep up. Its associate and bachelor’s degrees in petroleum engineering won their first international accreditation in 2024, from a London-based energy body.
Graduates of those programmes were in high demand and usually hired within five months, the Guyana Chronicle reported at the time.
Free Tuition and Scholarships in Figures
Ali announced free tuition at the University of Guyana in Parliament in October 2024. It took effect on 1 January 2025, with more than 11,000 students set to benefit, the Guyana Chronicle reported.
The move revived an old policy. Forbes Burnham’s government abolished university fees in 1976, and they returned in 1994.
The 2026 budget, which the government calls the largest in Guyana’s history, totals G$1.558 trillion (US$7.4 billion). Education received G$183.6 billion (US$878 million), at about 209 Guyana dollars to the US dollar on 4 October 2026.
Of that, G$5.8 billion (US$28 million) goes to the Guyana Online Academy of Learning, or GOAL. The programme pays for online study with more than 40 international partner institutions.
GOAL had granted 54,790 scholarships by June 2026, against an original target of 20,000 in five years. At a ceremony that month, Ashni Singh, the senior minister responsible for finance, said 3,876 people were graduating.
The university itself spent G$7 billion (US$33 million) in the first half of 2026, partly to widen access to medicine and engineering. Its pre-medicine programme reached all regions in April and had 80 students, the Guyana Chronicle reported.
The Strains Behind the Growth
Funding has not matched the University of Guyana’s requests. It asked for G$21.2 billion (US$101 million) for 2026 and received G$14.5 billion (US$69 million), News Source Guyana reported in January.
In the budget debate in early February, opposition lawmaker David Hinds urged the government to cut GOAL’s budget. He wanted half of it given to the university, warning it could become “another night school”.
Hinds, a lawmaker for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), made the case in his maiden speech, Demerara Waves reported. He argued that the University of Guyana could provide many degrees that GOAL now funds abroad.
In September, Chancellor Sir Ronald Sanders called delayed Criminal Law grades from 2024-2025 “completely unacceptable”. He ordered that no student be held back by the delay, the Guyana Chronicle reported.
The government stresses that it can pay for its plans. Prime Minister Mark Phillips said in February that the 2026 budget is fully financed and introduces no new taxes.
What Comes Next
The ceremonies begin on Tuesday 17 November and end on Saturday 28 November. Ali said in February that a School of Medicine and full engineering programmes would soon run at the Tain campus.
In July, speaking to Guyanese living in Saint Lucia, Ali also floated free online University of Guyana degrees for the diaspora. “We want to be able also to move to a position” where that platform reaches the diaspora, he said.
A larger class does not show how many graduates will find work in their field. The university has not said how many of this year’s graduates studied engineering, medicine or other subjects tied to the oil economy.
The wider story of the boom, its politics and its risks is set out in this guide to Guyana’s oil economy. The next marker for the University of Guyana is its 2027 budget allocation, and whether it closes the gap with its requests.
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When is the University of Guyana’s 2026 graduation?
The 60th convocation runs on 17 and 18 November at Turkeyen, in Greater Georgetown, and on 20 November at the Berbice Campus. Extra-mural students graduate on 28 November, and all ceremonies will be streamed online.
Is the University of Guyana free to attend?
Tuition has been free since 1 January 2025, under a policy President Irfaan Ali announced in October 2024. Foreign applicants should check their own eligibility and fees directly with the University of Guyana.
What is GOAL?
The Guyana Online Academy of Learning is a government programme that pays for online study, from pre-university courses to doctorates. It had granted 54,790 scholarships by June 2026 and has G$5.8 billion (US$28 million) in this year’s budget.
Why does oil matter to Guyana’s universities?
Guyana’s oil output averaged about 902,000 barrels a day in the first half of 2026. The government wants Guyanese workers and firms to take a larger share of that industry. The University of Guyana trains petroleum engineers, among other professionals.
Sources: Guyana Chronicle, 4 October 2026; Kaieteur News, 4 October 2026; iNews Guyana, 3 October 2026; University of Guyana, 27 October 2025; Caribbean Today, 17 September 2026; Guyana Chronicle, 15 September 2026; Department of Public Information, 1 February 2026; News Source Guyana, 28 January 2026; Demerara Waves, 5 February 2026; Guyana Chronicle, 24 June 2026; Guyana Chronicle, 26 September 2026; Guyana Chronicle, 21 September 2026; Guyana Chronicle, 23 April 2025; UA.News (citing OilPrice), 30 September 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief