1) According to information provided to the IRBDC by the High Commissioner for Guyana in Ottawa, the government of Guyana does grant loans to students in the form of full or partial scholarships which cover part or all of their basic expenses while studying abroad. When a scholarship is awarded, the student must provide guarantors and sign a contract which commits him/her to return to Guyana and work for 3-5 years (5 years being the maximum requirement) in a government, public or, in some cases, private business or institution. If the student does not return to Guyana or does not work upon his/her return, the guarantors would be required to pay back to the government the amount granted through the scholarship. According to the source, payment is not required if the student returns and works for the time agreed on the contract.

2) The minimum wage in Guyana, according to the High Commissioner for Guyana in Ottawa, was G$27 a day before a general salary increase in August 1989. Information on the minimum salary after the August increase could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. On April 1989 the Guyanese government raised salaries by 20 percent [ Caribbean Report, (London, Latin American Newsletters), June 1989, p. 2.] after a general price increase and a devaluation of the Guyanese Dollar, from G$10 per US$1 to G$33 per US$1, while the black market exchange rate reportedly ranged between G$45 and G$55 per US$1. [ Caribbean Report, May 1989, p. 3.]

3) The requested information is not currently available from the IRBDC.