Guyana’s massive investments in the education sector continue to reap rich harvests for the country. This was amply manifested, when four local students garnered rich returns for excellent performances at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). On December 4, the country was the show piece of the Region, as four Guyanese students picked up specialised awards for their outstanding performances, at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams.
The prestigious award for Most Outstanding Candidate Overall was taken by Elisa Hamilton from Queen’s College; this by itself contributing to Queens’s College, taking away the Most Outstanding School

Hamilton achieved grade ones in 19 subjects: Agricultural Science (double award): Biology: Chemistry: English A; English B; Food and Nutrition; French; Geography; Home Economics Management; Information Technology; Integrated Science; Mathematics; Physics; Principles of Business; Social Studies; Spanish; Electronic Document Preparation and Management; Physical Education and Sport; Human and Social Biology; and a grade two in Religious Education.
The Most Outstanding Award for Humanities went to another Queen’s College prodigy, Aliyyah Abdul Kadir. She scored grade ones in 15 subjects. Ryhan Chand, yet another from Queen’s College, took home the Most Outstanding Student in Business award, chalking up grade ones in 13 subjects. The final student, Kishan Critchlow, of New Amsterdam Multilateral School, broke the Queen’s College sequence; he was awarded the Most Outstanding Student in Technical/Vocation Education.
The students’ tokens for their excellent output were quite substantial-a plaque of recognition, a cash prize and a dictionary, for each of them. The tokens were buttressed with promissory letters for full scholarships, to pursue studies at the Mona Campus, contingent upon their completing and excelling at the CAPE exams.
No wonder the Guyanese explained that they were continuing studies at the CAPE level, hoping to attend UWI in the near future.
In 2013, Guyana won five of the eight awards offered. The winners were: Yogeeta Persaud-Anna Regina Secondary School, Overall Outstanding Achievement; Rafena Mustapha-Saraswati Vidya Niketan, Most Outstanding in Humanities; Cecil Cox-Queen’s College, Most Outstanding in Sciences; Sasha S Woodroffe-Queen’s College, Most Outstanding in Business Studies; and Zimeena A Rasheed-Anna Regina Secondary School, Most Outstanding in Technical Vocational.
Double feature

The night was a double feature, as students for both CSEC and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exams (CAPE) were honoured, at a ceremony, attended by officials and dignitaries from across the Region at the regional headquarters of the University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica.

Continue pressing on
Professor Nigel Harris ,Vice Chancellor and Chairman of UWI, in his feature address to the students, not only complimented them, but also exhorted that they ‘press on’ as much as possible, both in terms of their academic lives and in being engaged in extra-curricular activities.
He admonished that academic studies and extra-curricular activities mould characters; they work in tandem, and one is not at the expense of the other. The soon-to-exit UWI Head pointed out that the awardees all debunked the myth that academics are not normal people.
Professor Harris explained that he was very cognisant of the fact that too many people criticise the top students, unjustly chiding them for sitting a plethora of subjects, thinking that this creates imbalances and peculiarities in them. He highlighted the startling reality, that the awardees were all well-rounded and gifted, being proficient in a number of non-academic areas-sports, dancing, singing, and debating.
He further opined that even though “Knowledge learning is important, there are a number of (other) important things. The book knowledge is not always important… being able to communicate and speak as well… other interests such as debating will make you rounded individuals. And I know we don’t have nerds here, like people think.”
Harris’ joy must have been immense on the occasion, as he himself is Guyanese and a former Queen’s College student. He is a UWI stalwart and is set to leave UWI Mona, in May 2015.
He acknowledged that the students’ achievements, high as they are at the moment, form only the first steps to success. “You can’t slack off now; if you want these scholarships, you have to continue working.”
Harris was quick to point out, that even though the West Indies is not trouble-free and is still facing a number of challenges, the CXC and CAPE remain stirring examples of the Region’s succeeding and producing brilliant people of the highest merit-scholars, politicians and academics for the future.

Other awardees
Apart from Guyana’s success story, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica enjoyed academic glory on the occasion. Trinidad and Tobago copped nine awards for both CAPE and CSEC; while Jamaica received three awards.
Students from Trinidad’s Naparima Girls’ High School received three awards: Most Outstanding Candidate in Visual Arts, two-dimensional work-Shivana Sookdeo (CSEC), and for CAPE, Sushma Karim; she also took the Most Outstanding CAPE Candidate Overall in the Caribbean; and Celeste Jaggai-Most Outstanding Candidate in Technical Studies for CAPE as well.
This school was adjudged the most outstanding school for CAPE.
The other CSEC awards went to Kristan Mohamed-the Most Outstanding Candidate in Short Story-writing; and Nneka Toni Jones-the Most Outstanding Candidate in Visual Arts, three-dimensional work for CSEC.
The Jamaican candidates comprised Nile Anderson, who received the Most Outstanding Candidate in Sciences (with grade ones in 13 subjects and grade twos in three subjects at CSEC); Romario White, from Campion College, who received the Most Outstanding Candidate in Natural Sciences award for CAPE; and Jozelle Dixon, from Wolmer’s Girls High School, who was the Most Outstanding Candidate in Humanities also for CAPE.

CAPE awardees
The other CAPE awards went to Arifa Satnarine, for Most Outstanding Candidate in Modern Languages; Ranissa Mathura, for Most Outstanding Candidate in Environmental Science; Mandela Patrick, for Most Outstanding Candidate in Mathematics, and Most Outstanding Candidate in Information and Communication Technology and Sharda Goolcharran, for Most Outstanding Candidate for Business Studies. All of these CAPE awardees hail from the twin-island of Trinidad and Tobago.

(GINA)