‘Guyana belongs to you, it will be transformed and every citizen must benefit’ – Pres. Granger tells students
– President’s College celebrates its Graduating Class of 2019
– Pres. Granger donates bus to the school
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, November 7, 2019
The ‘Purple Nation’, President’s College has yet again celebrated its students who have matriculated at its 29th graduation exercise.
Mahaica boy, Kumar Persaud, who secured 12 Grade Ones and 2 Grade Twos, is this year’s Best Graduating student at the CSEC level.
Boasting a 92.1% combined pass rate, the school, located in Golden Grove on the East Coast of Demerara, also received an education boost from His Excellency, President David Granger through the Public Education and Transportation System.
Commonly referred to as the 5 B’s, the system provides buses, boats, bicycles, books and breakfast free of cost for students nationwide.
At today’s graduation, President Granger handed over a bus to the school, explaining that he drew inspiration from a previous visit to the school. During that visit, the Head of State spoke to a young student who hailed from Mahaica and whose family spent excessive amounts of money on transportation.
The president relayed that he was adamant that nothing should hinder students’ attendance, performance and ultimate success at school, as such, the idea to provide transportation for the students of the school was conceived.
The school’s motto, ‘We Can, We Must, We Will’ was on full display as the students and staff, along with Minister of Education Dr. Nicolette Henry, celebrated 34 years of the college’s existence.
In his address to the gathering, the president shared his vision, one which the students will inherit. He noted that transforming Guyana is at the core of everything the Coalition Government has done and will continue to do. He added that public education, public infrastructure, public health, public security and social protection are among the top priorities for development.
“Guyana belongs to you… the country you will be entering, in a few weeks or months, will be much different from the country we are living in today… The country will be changed over the next few years, and those changes must benefit every single Guyanese in every part of the country. Those changes must give our people a higher standard of living.”
The president also spoke about prioritising Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to make this country more competitive globally.
“Guyana needs you; it needs high skilled persons to populate these new economic sectors. It will need an A to Z of scientists from agronomists and cardiologists to zoologists if we are to transform the economy of this country it is for this reason, we are emphasising Science and Technology education, which will allow us to acquire the skills needed to propel development.”
This does not in any way, he clarified, demote the importance of the humanities. He further disclosed that during the ‘Decade of Development’, which will be launched in 2020, education will be accorded the highest priority.
Valedictorian, Denisha Leitch, who is furthering her studies in Cuba, encouraged her batch mates in a pre-recorded address, to represent the school well in all of their endeavours.
Head of Internal Medicine and Cardiology at GPHC, Dr. Mahendra Carpen, who was part of the first batch of students in 1985, noted that excellence at President’s College is achieved in recognition of Guyana’s investment in their future.