HUNDREDS of graduands and their families and friends gathered at the National Cultural Centre on Thursday to witness the culmination of an education journey, which for some must not have been easy. But finally it was time for them to get the reward for their hard work.

There were speeches as expected, but there were also music, song and dance performed by students who kept everyone wonderfully entertained.
Chairman of the GTI Board of Governors, Major General (retired) Norman McLean expressed the view that the GTI as an institution is stagnating. He informed the audience that three years ago they laid out a roadmap to turn the institution into a polytechnic, but that this has not happened yet. But he said he is happy about the fact that they were able to attach their students to various businesses as apprentices. OMAI was one of the first companies that took on GTI students, and the chairman recalled how they offered students incentives for good performances.
Since then other businesses have stepped up and taken on GTI students. For this year 15 students were placed at DDL, another 15 placed at Banks DIH, 10 placed at GTT and four placed at Summerson Furniture. However, there have also been bad experiences as five students did not do well at these placements causing embarrassment to the institution. The chairman reiterated that bad examples will not be tolerated.

McLean made the case for competency-based education and said talk should be replaced by hands-on delivery. Although GTI achieved a 58% pass rate, he noted that students generally struggled with competency in Mathematics, stressing that those who have graduated should be competent in this subject.
GTI has also been collaborating with other centres of higher learning, one of which is Durham College in Canada. McLean noted that construction is going on everywhere and expressed his view that Guyana is on the verge of tremendous growth, hence there will be an increased demand for graduates with qualifications in areas like civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical installation and telecommunications. He urged graduands to “Shoot for space, since the sky is no longer the limit.”
Principal of GTI, Mr. Carl Benn congratulated the graduands and told them to reflect on this moment, which is just one stop on the journey towards achieving their goals and that their attitude will determine whether they will do so.
Guest speaker of the evening, Ms. Melcita Bovell standing in for the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, congratulated the graduands for having made a very wise decision by enrolling at the GTI. She expressed her confidence in the quality of the leadership at the helm of the institution, which in her words, “is going places.”
Ms. Bovell stressed the importance of technical education which she noted is critical for the development of Guyana. She reminded the audience that Guyana has moved beyond its low human development status and lost the associated benefits, hence the country is expecting graduands to become not only employees, but to aim higher and become managers and entrepreneurs who will help grow the economy.
She noted that she would like technical education to be integrated in the school system from Grade 7 in at least 70 of the 100 secondary schools in the country. According to Ms. Bovell government believes in the value of technical education and that’s why it is investing billions, in fixing existing institutions and building new ones.
Ms. Bovell informed the audience that “we’re moving to a place where there will be less reliance on papers, and where one will be required to demonstrate one’s competency in a particular field on the spot.” According to Ms. Bovell, Guyana is one of the leading countries in the Caribbean in its state of readiness to implement the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) programme. When the CVQ is implemented, holders of the qualification will be able to apply for positions all over the Caribbean.
“This is your time to position yourself in a new Guyana. Believe in yourself. If you believe in yourself half as much as I believe in you, than that’s enough,” Ms. Bovell told the graduands.
She added: “Getting your diploma is just one step towards becoming a future leader” and further stressed the importance of qualities such as discipline, punctuality, honesty and excellence, before concluding her speech with a quote by the American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.”
The Valedictorian for 2013 is Mr. Colin Quintyn who pursued a diploma in Building and Civil Engineering.

(By Jimmy Roos)