Full sponsorship for QC students to attend prestigious UWI programme

May 31, 2014 News

Sponsorship will not be an issue for the three exceptional students of Queen’s College who were recently accepted into an elite programme for Innovation in Science and Engineering (SPISE) at the University of the West Indies.

The two Exceptional Students who will be sponsored by Government.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Education yesterday, following the announcement of the acceptance of Benedict Sukra, Lawrence Faria and Cecil Cox to the prestigious programme, Government decided to commit funding for two of the three boys – Sukra and Faria. Cox, on the other hand, will receive full sponsorship from CGX Energy Inc., a Canadian oil and gas exploration company.
Since last December, CGX had made the commitment to make available the sum of $1.2 million for a Guyanese student to attend the programme. Cox received the cheque yesterday from CGX Manager, Mr. Tarachandra Khelawan, in the presence of Queen’s College Headmistress, Ms. Jackie Benn, and Ms. Petal Jettoo of the National Centre for Educational Research Development.
The three young students have all recorded outstanding academic performances, making them especially suitable for the programme. Sukra, for instance, has been able to accomplish 12 Grade Ones and 2 Grade Twos at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination (CSEC). He later attained five Grade Ones in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Pure Math and Communication Studies at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). Sukra also received a National Award for Outstanding Performance.
Faria who obtained passes in 14 subjects, with 10 Grade ones and four Grade twos, is currently aiming for the same level of success as his colleague in five subjects at CAPE.
Meanwhile, Cox who secured Grade One passes in 16 subjects at CSEC in 2013 was adjudged the best performer for the Caribbean in the Sciences for which he was presented an award for the Most Outstanding Performance in the Sciences. He also received the President’s Award Scholarship.
Ahead of all this, in 2009, Cox won the National Junior Chess Championship of Guyana, and led his school’s team to victory at the National Schools Chess Championships on two occasions.
Moreover, the three young men have been identified as gifted students and therefore, suitable for the programme which will be held at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados, campus.
They are expected to commence the programme on July 19, 2014.
SPISE is a four-week residential summer programme for Caribbean high school students who are gifted in Science and Engineering.
In the programme, students are immersed in university-level Calculus, Physics, Biochemistry, Entrepreneurship, Mandarin, One-Caribbean studies, and hands-on projects in robotics, electronics and computer programming.
This programme, along with the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge (SVC), is listed as important Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF’s) initiatives which embraced the long-term goal of “helping to diversify the economies of the Region and raise the standard of living of the people by stimulating more technology-based entrepreneurship within the Region.” Key important partners of the CSF are the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).

CGX Manager Mr Tarachandra Khelawan (second from right) hands over the cheque to gifts student, Cecil Cox, in the presence of Queen’s College Headmistress, Ms. Jackie Benn, and Ms. Petal Jettoo of NCERD.

Moreover, SPISE is modeled after the well-known and highly successful Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science MITES programme.
And even as Queen’s College relishes in the fact that three of its own have been recognized for the prestigious programme, the educational institution is poised to benefit from several forthcoming enhancements.
The enhancements, according to the Education Ministry, are expected to significantly modify the overall function, appearance and learning environment of the school.
In this regard the executive body of the Parent Teacher’s Association, Board of Governors, Head Teacher, and Administrative Department of the school met with Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, to have discussions.
At the meeting, Queen’s College representatives raised a number of issues, among them the insufficient number of teachers and furniture for staff, labs and classrooms.
Moreover, Minister Manickchand committed to addressing the concerns and has also committed to, as far as possible, making every effort to ensure that the school has the requisite number of teachers and furnishings needed.
The Minister has therefore asked the school to collaborate with the PTA in order to compile a comprehensive list of vacancies and other requirements.
Based on the Minister’s commitment, several requests made by the school are expected to be realized, though this will be dependent on the availability of resources.
Among the requests are: repairs and painting to the buildings; improved plumbing to certain buildings; electrical works; restoration to the school’s play field; expansion works to include cafeteria and rooms that will be used for various events and club meetings.
Queen’s College is one of many schools listed for rehabilitation works and overall enhancement interventions this year as the Ministry continues to improve the delivery of education across the country.
As such, the recent meeting represents a fulfilment of the Ministry’s promise that any rehabilitation work will see the community being informed of the scope of the works with the view to having quality outputs.
The school has been known to produce some of the Region’s best professionals, among them scientists, lawyers, engineers, teachers and economists.