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of the 173 children in the “top one percent” a laptop computer for their outstanding performance at the examination which was written by 16,811 students on March 25 and 26, 2013.
Delivering the feature address at the ceremony which saw parents and other relatives of these students turning out in their numbers, President Ramotar encouraged the students to go on to higher levels in whatever field they choose and to avoid being distracted.
The Head of State told the students to persevere and prepare themselves for the future which beckons them, while assuring that the Government of Guyana wants them to succeed in their future endeavours.
“And when I look at all these young, bright faces in front of me, my confidence is once more strengthened that we can be a developed country in the not too distant future with your help, ” he declared.
Social Conscience
President Ramotar added that he is re-energized to continue to work with all the partners in education to make the country a better place, while encouraging the top performers to be honest and to have a social conscience by helping those who are in need.
He also noted that they do not only want the students to make a contribution to the development of Guyana, but also to the Caribbean Region and the world.
Ramotar said that they want to ensure that the students do not flounder along the way but rise to even greater heights, and as such they are providing them with the most modern tool which can help them in their research and communication, while putting them in contact with some of the most important knowledge bases in the world today.
He asserted that the students need to be multi-skilled and multi- disciplined and they must be able to be competent in using the most modern tools in the world.
Ramotar emphasised also that while it was the closing of one part of their life, it is the beginning of another stage since there’s still a long way to go, but they need to stay focused on being successful in the world of today and even moreso tomorrow.
He pointed out that in the world in which they are growing up, they are going to be challenged by many things but the race is not for the swiftest but he who endures to the end and his administration wants to help them to endure to the end.
In his address to the students, Ramotar also told them that they want them to serve Guyana but that does not mean that they don’t want them to take advantage of what the rest of the world has to offer.
Alluding to the development of science and technology, he reiterated that his administration is currently working with the University of Guyana (UG) to offer online degree programmes to allow Guyanese in the most remote parts of the country to have access to a tertiary education.
The Head of State reiterated that in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society such as Guyana’s, they need to ensure that they have equal opportunity for everyone, and he knows no better way of providing equal opportunities for all Guyanese than by giving all of them equal access to the best education they can provide.
Role of Education
Ramotar noted that it has already been proven that to get countries out of poverty, education must play a very important role.
“And that is what I see education as, in the fight against poverty, in the fight against inequality and in the struggle against all the injustices that we sometimes have to confront. I see education as that hook, that hook that can take us out of poverty and take us to the higher levels that I dream about that our country can go to,” he declared.
Ramotar acknowledged that they still have a lot of work to do to ensure that more students will do extremely well and to improve passes in mathematics, english, science and technology and also take inspiration from where the country has come from.
He congratulated the top performers and their parents and guardians who worked with them to enable them to do well.
The Head of State concluded by encouraging students who have not done well enough to be among the top performers to concentrate on their education and develop and make a better life for themselves and in the process a better life for Guyana and a better world.
Meanwhile, also addressing the students, Education Minister, Priya Manickchand told them that they have great opportunities now, that people would not have had before and so they can be not only leaders in Guyana, but they have the opportunity to be world leaders.
“You want to think of ways that you could make a difference in the lives of people not only here in your beloved land but in all the corners of the world, particularly those populations that are underprivileged,” she added.
Manickchand told the students that this is the beginning of a great life for them and they are giving them the tool which will enable them to appreciate that they can make changes to the entire world.
She encouraged them to be disciplined, while offering them the warmest congratulations and wishing them the very best.
Largest Allocation In Budget
According to her, education is important for the development of Guyana, and is the priority item of the government, which is manifested in the provision of the largest allocation in the budget to this sector.
However, she pointed out that getting the resources and putting that in the schools and getting the students into the classrooms did not mean that they are educating the children as they still have a lot of work to do as a team to improve the quality of education being delivered.
Manickchand also took the opportunity to highlight the fact that there are tangible signs that Guyana is doing much better in the education sector, such as the achievement of Millenium Development Goal number two of universal primary education.
She also alluded to the continuous efforts of the government to provide all Guyanese with equal access to education which has yielded tremendous results in the performance of students in the remote areas.
