NEW LIFE was breathed into the Eusi Kwayana Award with the presentation of a cheque to the University of Guyana (UG) by visiting members of the Baveghems family from the District of Columbia, USA, whose ancestry is linked to Guyana and tied in particular to Kwayana.The Eusi Kwayana Award was established in 2002 by relatives of Kwayana (formerly known as Sidney King, who hailed from Buxton, East Coast Demerara), after a family reunion of the Baveghems family in the same year.

The award from this family seeks to honour the contributions of Kwayana as an educator in Guyana.

The award was previously given to a second year student who completed the Certificate in Education, in the normal period of time, with a GPA of not less than 3.0 and who was proceeding to the Bachelor of Education programme.

The family explained that the intention was not just to reward good performance but also to offer incentive to teachers to proceed to the Bachelor of Education programme on completion of the Certificate in Education.

Given recent changes to the structure of the education programme at UG, the family has approved amendments to the award.

It will now be offered to a first year Bachelor of Education student who is proceeding to the second year of the programme, having completed year one in the normal period of time, with a GPA of not less than 3.0 and with no failed grades.

Subject to the approval of the UG’s Scholarships and Awards Committee, these changes will be effected from November, 2016. Additionally, the award will now be offered to two students annually.

The cheque, which is expected to sustain the award for the next three years, was handed over to the University of Guyana by Joycelyn Thompson, Delores Collins and Rebecca Miskiri-Antoine.
The family expressed regret that the award was dormant for a while but advised that it was their intention and desire to maintain the award henceforth.

Receiving on the university’s behalf was Daniella King, Assistant Registrar-Students’ Welfare, who thanked the family for their continued support and interest in the development of the educators who are expected to mould the minds of future generations of Guyanese.