BCB/UG educational scholarship launched

Nov 19, 2023 Sports

– Campus team to receive $100,000 in cricket gears

Kaieteur Sports – “Every week of the year the Berbice cricket board has strived to come up with a new idea toward the positive development of cricket in the county. We strongly believe in the promotion of education among sportsmen as it not only guarantees them a life after cricket but also allows them to think on the field of play at a faster rate”.

Chancellor of the University of Guyana Professor Edward Greene (centre) hands over the scholarship letter to BCB President Hilbert Foster in the presence of Vice Chancellor Dr. Paloma Mohammed.

Those were the words of BCB president Hilbert Foster at the launching of the two educational scholarships at the Tain campus of the University of Guyana. The scholarships were part of an agreement between the BCB and the University of Guyana towards the development of the game on and off the cricket field.

Foster stated that the scholarships are an inspiring move for sports as well as education – a very important fact for youths to understand that the two can go hand-in-hand. The Berbice Cricket Board since 2018 under the leadership of Foster has invested heavily in the education of its cricketers at the junior level. The board has already provided a scholarship to the university for Naeem Khan of the Albion Cricket Club and has provided educational financial grants to hundreds of youths. The BCB also rewarded outstanding performances at the CSEC level and has donated school bags, bicycles and educational materials to assist students in their school work. Youth information booklets were also published to get the youths to understand the importance of education and other areas in their life including physical fitness, personal discipline, a drug-free body and personal hygiene. The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club MS, where Foster is the secretary/CEO, has also invested heavily in the efforts of hosting numerous educational competitions within the county for primary and secondary school students. They include spelling bees, debates, essays and poster campaigns among others, while the club also hosted an award ceremony for teachers and students.

Vice chancellor of the University of Guyana Dr. Paloma Mohammed stated that the scholarships would be part of about 24 disciplines, of which four will be toward cricket. Two of the scholarships would be for Berbice and the other two for Georgetown. Dr. Mohammed pointed out that the scholarships were for any course that the university was offering. It means that a recipient did not have to pursue a course in sports once the requirements of the university were met.

So you would have to be able to meet the requirements to be accepted by the university. Once you are accepted the Berbice Cricket Board then takes over and says this is the person.

She stated that the BCB and university have agreed that the scholarship must be gender and ethnically-inclusive as well as geographically inclusive. The vice chancellor warned that a good GPA must be maintained as the recipients cannot collect a scholarship and go through the motion. Failure to maintain a good GPA would result in the scholarship being taken away. The Berbice Cricket Board would shortly place advertisements for cricketers to apply for the scholarships. Chancellor of the university Professor Edward Greene stated that sportsmen must understand the importance of an educated mind and hailed the BCB for pushing the importance of education. International cricket commentator Joseph Reds Pereira and former West Indies vice captain Roger Harper both congratulated the Berbice board and the university for offering cricketers a chance to fulfill their academic ambitions.

Meanwhile, the BCB president announced to loud applause that University’s elite cricket team would shortly receive $100,000 worth of cricket gears. The announcement was made after the captain of the team had approached Foster for assistance in obtaining some cricket gear. The BCB president then approached a sponsor and the gears were immediately approved. The donation would include batting pads, batting gloves, wicketkeeping pads, wicket keeping gloves and bats.

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BCB President, BCB President Hilbert Foster, Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Edward Greene, Vice Chancellor Dr. Paloma Mohammed

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