THE Kuru Kuru Cooperative College last Saturday held its annual graduation ceremony at the Guyana Red Cross Society Building at Eve Leary, Kingston.

Students were honoured for successfully completing studies in various areas, including the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examinations and other special courses, such as videography and digital photography.
The college achieved 100% passes in 10 of the 11 CSEC subjects it offers. These include Office Administration, Principles of Accounts, Principles of Business, Agricultural Science, Integrated Science, Economics, Mathematics, Social Studies, Human and Social Biology and Electronic Document Preparation Management (EDPM). It also gained an 89% pass rate in English Language.
The best graduating students in each subject area were honoured, while some staff members also received long service awards.
The college’s administrator, Ms. Myrtle Richards, noted that the students’ journey towards success was not without trials and tribulations, but by not giving up, they were able to succeed.
She said that in her speech at last year’s graduation, she expressed a desire for a Board of Directors to be re-appointed by the Minister of Education and that desire has since been fulfilled.
According to her, the then Minister, Shaik Baksh in May, 2011, appointed a new Board of Directors headed by distinguished academic, John Seeram. Seeram is currently the Bursar at the University of Guyana (UG) and has lectured at UG and the University College of the Bahamas.
Richards pointed out that the number of students graduating were fewer than previous years, since classes were only conducted in secondary education, photography and video editing.
She advised that the board had hired a consultant, Dr. Leyland Thompson, to study the college’s post secondary courses and make comparisons with what is offered there and at similar institutions and the University of Guyana.
Hence, during that time, all post secondary courses, except photography and video editing, were suspended.
She said that Dr. Thompson found that the courses offered at the Kuru Kuru Cooperative College can be matched with those offered at similar institutions and at UG. Since then, she noted, the administration has been tasked with carrying out a vigorous public relations campaign to market the college so that the courses would attract more students.