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Annai students receive scholarships to attend Burrowes School of Art
Art teacher Godfrey Alexander (in the background) and his six students.
Art teachers are in short supply. This is according to Art teacher of 20 years, Godfrey Alexander, who is on a mission to help address this shortcoming.
Alexander has been teaching at the Annai Secondary School in Region Nine for the past three years, and he hopes within another two years at least two of his students would be taking up the teaching duty at the very school.
This is in light of the fact that he was able to encourage six of them who recently completed the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination to apply for entry to the Burrowes School of Art, located at Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown.
“This is an unprecedented move,” said Alexander during an interview with this publication yesterday. He noted that while he has produced several students who have done well in Art, not too many are inclined to further studies in this regard.
However, the recent batch of six students – Dickson Vanlong, 18; Wilkie George, 16; Leania Domingo, 17; Jerry Marco, 16; Laurindo John, 17 and Ransford Simon, 15 – seemed eager enough to indulge further in the Arts.
This was of course based on Alexander’s encouragement. And this was a strategic tactic, he noted, since “for the past two years I have noticed students graduating and just walking around in Annai after they graduate from school”. This has been the state of affairs in other sections of the Region, Alexander added.
The six students, who are yet to receive their CSEC results since they are out of their examining jurisdiction, attended an orientation at the Burrowes School of Art yesterday where they were assessed and accepted.
“They were accepted after their portfolios were looked at and they had to take a test; the test was done so that they can show a true reflection of their work…they all passed,” said the proud teacher.
They will attend the art school for the next two years, following which they are likely to be qualified enough to teach the subject, according to Alexander.
He added that “I had two students with 100 percent pass last year, and I made the recommendation to them, but they didn’t take it up because people told them that Art is stupidness, but little did they know that just Art took me around this world and brought me back. I was teaching in Africa for six years, I was in Brazil, Suriname and the United States”.
“I can see the benefits, and that is what I explained to my students, and it worked with this batch. They listened and they trusted me, and their parents are supportive too,” Alexander disclosed.
The students have also qualified for scholarships compliments of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs. This, according to Alexander, will see them being eligible for financial support and accommodation while they complete their two-year programme.
The proposal for the scholarship was raised by officials of the Burrowes School of Art following the students’ orientation session, and it was granted by the Ministry.
Minister within the Ministry, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, was particularly instrumental in facilitating the scholarship for the students.
“A lot of people don’t apply for scholarships from the hinterland and it covers everything for them, even the materials they will need over the two years. I benefited from that and I am happy my students can benefit from it too,” Alexander emphasised.
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