‘An Education Nation’

— over 800 scholarships granted to Indigenous students

DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, September 3, 2019

More than 800 scholarships have been issued to Indigenous students. This is according to Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Hon. Valerie Garrido-Lowe.

The minister disclosed this information during an exclusive interview on the National Communications Network (NCN) radio programme “Insight”.

In addition to the 800 plus scholarships issued across the levels of National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) for 2019, some 67 additional scholarships were granted for Tertiary and Vocational Institutions.

These include institutions such as the Burrows School of Art, the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC), Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA), Carnegie School of Home Economics (CSHE) and the Georgetown Technical Institute (GTI).

It was also disclosed that 62 scholarships were awarded for students who will be leaving the hinterland to come to the city to undergo their studies at the Secondary Level. For those who would have fallen just short of the mark for a full scholarship, the ministry will still offer assistance, possibly in the form of uniforms for the year and monthly allowances. A total of 96 students would have qualified for this assistance.

Minister Garrido-Lowe also highlighted that as a part of the Heritage Month activities, the scholarship division will also bring students from the hinterland regions for tours of the various landmarks and monuments within and around the city.

“Every year we try to allow at least two villages to bring their students down. Because when they write their Grade Six exams, they may have to say something about Parliament Building, or the Botanical Gardens and they have never seen these landmarks, they may have only seen them in pictures. So, we try to give them some exposure where they can visit these places.”

In closing, Minister Garrido-Lowe commended the Education Ministry for its continued support in helping to teach the Hinterland Students.

“I’d like to congratulate the Ministry and Minister Henry, who has been doing a great job. She has been very focused on her job. I always find that whenever I seek assistance, she is always ready to help.”