Fifty –two children of members of the Guyana Defence Force received bursaries for their success at the recent National Grade Six Assessment.The awards , valued $25 000 each and certificates of Achievement were handed out to the students in the prescence of their parents , during a simple, yet significant ceremony held at the Auditorium at Base Camp Ayanganna on Thursday September 13, 2012. The awards will be offered over a period of five years, providing the students remain at secondary school. Staff Officer One General Four, Lieutenant Colonel Godfrey Bess in brief remarks emphasized the Force’s commitment to education and urged the children to make the best of their secondary school life.
“Pay attention to academics and also participate in extracurricular activities. Take on leadership and membership roles and be unselfish in your pursuit of knowledge,” he urged them. He also reminded them to stay focused and aim at achieving academic excellence.
Meanwhile, he cautioned about  social websites which encourage a culture of broken and abbreviated use of English language which could have dire consequences for children during examination time.
Top Awardee, Camisa Chisolm, a student of the Bishops High School in pure eloquence moved the  ote of thanks, during which she extended appreciation on behalf of all the awardees for the Force’s gesture. “Thank you for showing us that there is a reward for hard work and for compelling us to do our best always,” she said.
The other top performers were Amaya Fung of St. Roses High , Denisha Leitch of Berbice High , Jubal West of Brickdam Secondary and Aatwanna Craig of Diamond Secondary.

This year the Force handed out the largest amount of bursaries since it started in 1974. So far 1466 awards have been handed out.
The Guyana Defence Force continues to present the bursaries in recognition of the efforts of the students themselves  and also to acknowledge  the sacrifices made by their parents and guardians toward ensuring they receive a secondary education.