Four CAPE/CSEC students gain Presidential scholarships

Oct 27, 2018 News

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• as Education Ministry hosts 22^nd National Awards Ceremony

The two most outstanding performers of the 2018 May/June sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certification examination [CSEC] and the two 2018 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination [CAPE] performers will be the recipients of Presidential Scholarships to further their academic pursuits.

This announcement was made yesterday when the Ministry of Education held its 22^nd National Award Ceremony for outstanding performance at the National Cultural Centre.

Among those set to receive scholarships is CAPE national and regional performer Aadilah Ali of Queen’s College. Her passes were in Applied Mathematics Units 1 and 2, Biology Units 1 and 2, Caribbean Studies, Chemistry Unit 2, Communication Studies, Environmental Science Units 1 and 2, Integrated Mathematics, Physics Units 1 and 2, Pure Mathematics Units 1 and 2, and Grade II in Chemistry Unit 1.

Ali was not only named the Most Outstanding CAPE performer this year but also the Most Outstanding Candidate in Natural Sciences by the Caribbean Examination Council [CXC].

At the CXC’s Awards Ceremony slated for December 6, 2018 in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ali will receive the Dennis Irvine Award by virtue of her being the Most Outstanding Regional CAPE Performer.

Her Queen’s College schoolmate, Rajiv Muneshwar is also eligible for a Presidential Scholarship. At CAPE, Muneshwar achieved passes in Applied Mathematics Units 1 and 2, Biology Units 1 and 2, Caribbean Studies, Chemistry Units 1 and 2, Communication Studies, Integrated Mathematics, Physics Units 1 and 2, and Pure Mathematics Units 1 and 2. He was named the Most Outstanding regional performer in Mathematics and will also be duly awarded the RM Results CAPE Mathematics Award.

Also poised to receive Presidential Scholarships this year are Christian Pile of Queen’s College and Shakira Bholo of Anna Regina Secondary School, both of whom achieved 19 grade one passes at CSEC this year.

Receiving awards yesterday were other CAPE performers including: Michael Bhopaul and Sariah Singh both of Queen’s College. Awards also went to top CSEC performers Salma Majeed of the ISA Islamic School, Rebekah Persaud of St. Rose’s High, Camecia De La Cruz and Begum Baksh both of Anna Regina Secondary, Dharshanie Jadubir of J. C. Chandisingh Secondary and Daniel Baldeo-Thorne, Areeb Ali, Haema Dasrath, Aarti Hooblall, Leshanna Bindah Reseda Hack and Yashoda Samaroo all of Queen’s College.

The most outstanding National Grade Six Assessment [NGSA] performers: Nalia Rahaman of Westfield Prep, Arthur Roberts of New Guyana School and Kaydee Ali of Success Elementary School were also awarded along with the top Cyril Potter College of Education performers – Annmarie Issardeen-Samaroo.

Also duly honoured were the most improved senior secondary school – New Amsterdam Secondary; the most improved junior secondary school – Sand Creek Secondary and the most improved primary school – Thomas Moore Primary.

Receiving the Desrey Fox Scholarship Award this year was Shania Khan of Three Miles Secondary.

Speaking at yesterday’s ceremony Deputy Chief Education Officer [Admin] (ag), Ms. Ingrid Trotman, underscored that the ceremony is not just to celebrate achievements but to give due regard to values such as discipline and zeal for learning.

In fact she highlighted that awards ceremony such as yesterday’s “are a good day to encourage good behaviour and inculcate a healthy competitive spirit.”

In his remarks too, Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson, said no one can challenge the fact that education is critical to the development of a nation. He went on to point out that many of the problems in society stem from the lack of education, such as poverty, racism and poor value systems.

The CEO, moreover, noted that these problems are bound to be eliminated since education, “Creates within individuals the capacity to perform certain functions for themselves, that is, reading, writing, calculating and therefore makes one employable.”

He also made it clear too that education lays the foundation for persons to think critically and rationalise issues for themselves and at the same time equips them with knowledge to keep up with the pace of development and modernity. Education he posited can further help individuals to develop an appreciation for people and to love one another.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, during her feature address said that it is only fair to highlight the exceptional academic and creative performances of young people and award them for their hard work.

Even as she recognised those who gave support to the awardees along the way, the Minister urged the awardees to remember that the road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it is possible to achieve all dreams.

The Award Ceremony, according to the Education Minister, started in October 1990 as a way of acknowledging students that have done exceptionally well in their academics and those who achieved certain scores in the different examinations.

She said that the exercise also serves the purpose of encouraging the students to strive for excellence.

“When the ceremony first began in 1990, only students with outstanding performance at the GCE Examination and the CXC Examinations received awards. Today I am proud to announce that 13 awards have since been added. They range from the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) to the Cyril Potter College of Education Examinations,” the Minister shared.

Currently awards are presented to top performers from the primary level all the way to tertiary, and, according to Minister Henry, “who knows maybe one day, even our nursery babies may be awarded.”  Special awards are also presented to outstanding differently able CSEC students as well.

The awards ceremony, which was laced with singing, dance and steel pan renditions, was held under the theme “Education for a good life through innovation and STEAMS”.

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