EIGHT-FOUR young Guyanese graduated from the Republic Bank Start Pan Minors Music Literacy Programme recently.

On Friday, they were all presented with certificates to mark their completion of the programme, which was jointly executed by the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, and Republic Bank Guyana from July 11-27.

The closing ceremony was attended by Education Minister, Nicolette Henry and Senior Officials from Republic Bank, including Jannis London, Denise Hobbs and Yugisther Mohabir.

The Education Minister, while delivering the feature address, said the National School of Music’s partnership with Republic Bank has borne fruit.

“Many school aged children, particularly at the secondary level have benefitted….and are actively involved in steel pan concerts and competitions, such as the annual Republic Bank Pan-O-Rama,” she pointed out.

She said the contribution being made by Republic Bank Guyana has not gone unnoticed. “Republic Bank has invested millions of dollars over the years to help spread steel pan music throughout the country, and I trust, will continue to do so as there is no better investment than investing in our young people!”

While expressing the hope that the partnership will continue, Minister Henry pointed to government’s strategic development plan to establish 15 new school bands by 2020. “Steel pan music in Guyana has a rich and interesting history and legacy, and we want to continue this legacy by having as many schools as possible equipped with steel pans,” Minister Henry posited.

Andrew Tyndall, Administrator of The National School of Music, and organiser of the programme in his missive, declared the camp a success. He further urged the children to apply the same level of dedication and commitment they showed over the three weeks of the camp as they continue to play and also apply the same to their lives, including their school work.

He also thanked the parents for allowing their children to attend the programme every day.

In a separate interview, Tyndall revealed that this year’s programme was special. For the first time the programme reached out to the Child Care Protection Agency to include children from the Drop-In Centre in Georgetown and Mahaica. He said that as a result, all of the children completed the programme with diligence and enthusiasm. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education, through The National School of Music, will be holding a permanent steel-pan programme for the children from the Drop-In Centre.