Students duly recognised after completing overseas programmes

Aug 14, 2008 News

A total of fifty-three (53) students last evening graduated with honours at the National Cultural Centre after completing over 18 months of studying and training in Professional Training overseas programmes.

Under the Commonwealth Scholarship Programme, the students underwent training in Malaysia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and India, while others were based in Cuba and Canada were instructed via the Organization of American Scholarship Programme.

They were honoured in the areas of Agriculture, Engineering, Medicine, Physical Education and Veterinary, among others.

In her address to the graduates last evening, Acting Cuban Ambassador to Guyana, Ferrera Mercedes said the expectations that society have of the medical students will increase dramatically now that they have graduated.

“You are expected to meet higher standards of skills and knowledge. You need to remain committed to working respectively with all health professionals in providing the best health care to the country,” the Cuban Ambassador urged.

Meanwhile, delivering the charge was President Bharrat Jagdeo who urged them to face the reality of life now that they are back in Guyana.

He told the graduates that they are now young leaders in their communities and in the country and that people will look up to them for advice and to provide services.

“I don’t want passive young people in this country. I want active young people…People who recognize that our resources at this stage and the development of our society will never allow us to meet all of our expectations.

Financial resources, human resources, technical resources are all inadequate. But we have the capability of changing that.

We cannot change it by complaints, we cannot change it by analyzing the situation over and over; we can only change it from hard work, commitment and an understanding of the task before us.

So I ask of you not to play a passive role in your country. It is your country to fashion. You have to shape it the way you want it shaped,” the Head of State charged.

He noted that the challenges in Guyana are huge, taking into consideration the changing international environment in which the administration will have to craft a viable economic and political strategy, which will allow the country to prosper.

He pointed to the issues of climate change and global warming and the severe impact they can have on a country like Guyana. He also urged for all to work together in changing the political structure in the country.

He told the graduates that they will indeed face hardships and would be frustrated at times, but they would need to find ways in dealing with it.

“I hope that you remain humble and be people-friendly and this bothers me a lot. I go to many government agencies and I see junior people working at these agencies speak to members of the public in ways that I would never as President of this country do.

They speak to people in a fashion that is really unreserved”, President Jagdeo noted.