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Marshall won himself an IPad, compliments of GT&T, while runner-up Priya Singh, of Blairmont Primary School, West Bank Berbice, got a Kindle, compliments of Gizmos and Gadgets.
Prizes for the other finalists included memory cards and card readers, compliments of Cell Phone Shack and book vouchers from Giftland Office Max.
There were 11 finalists from all across Guyana who competed in various spelling categories, such as food, personal names and places, science-related and words in general usage.
GT&T representative, Ms. Nadia DeAbreu, said the utility had approached the Ministry of Education and offered to partner in hosting the contest.
She stated that Haliborange children’s vitamin, which is manufactured by the Seven Seas company in the United Kingdom (UK) is also on board with a similar venture in the Caribbean, where Guyana was never represented.
Last year, René Bisnauth of Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne), represented Guyana for the first time at the Haliborange Spelling Bee in St. Kitts and Nevis after winning the GT&T segment.
AGREED
De Abreu said, this year, GT&T went back to the ministry and offered the partnership again and it was agreed.
Preliminary rounds were held in schools countrywide and the persons who competed in the semi-finals were the best in their respective regions.
Delivering the feature address on Wednesday, Education Minister Priya Manickchand highlighted the importance of learning and said, while it may seem to be just a cliché, it is of vital importance to everyone’s life in Guyana because as it is, Guyana is a developing country and the only way for further development would be when captivated attention is placed on how children are educated from the nursery to the tertiary level.
She said, although the Government of Guyana has been doing all that it can and has pledged to do more, there is still a dire need for more people to get involved.
Ms. Manickchand noted that, for the last 10 years, more teachers, parents, communities, religious organisations and public and private entities are becoming involved in promoting education.
She said, despite this evident change, there remains a need for other people’s involvement, so that children can reach their full potential while the country develops at an appreciative pace.
She also said that she is impressed with the interest shown by corporate citizens in partnering with her ministry, particularly GT&T, since this is not the first time it is sponsoring the event.
The minister acknowledged that it is not easy for the Education Ministry to perform all its tasks and seek out sponsors, namely Giftland, Cell Phone Shack and Air Services Limited, among others, hence it is necessary to have partners who have the foresight and energy to do so.
