BOTH present and continuing students, who are children of employees of the Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil) were awarded for their outstanding academic performance at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams last Friday.The presentation ceremony was held at the Kitty Service Station Boardroom in the presence of the board of directors, senior managers and general employees.

In remarks, Acting Managing Director, Reginald Bhagwandin said many years ago he had been the beneficiary of a similar bursary award. As such, he recognised the need for it to continue as an encouragement for students to strive for higher education.

He expressed congratulations to the students and encouraged their parents to continue to guide their children as it was the building block in their life even as they are about to enter high school and the world of work.

Bhagwandin also stressed the need for students to put aside their electronic gadgets sometimes and focus on their studies.

Giving an overview of the bursary award was Human Resource Manager, Ronley Kendall. He said the GuyOil Bursary Award started in 1983 and was later renamed in 1997 with the aim of encouraging children of staffers to attain high grades.

Kendall explained that students who maintained 45% to 65% grade were awarded with a certificate each, token of school supplies and the high achievers were given a trophy and cash incentive.

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Lance Carberry in his closing remarks told the gathering that he was very pleased to see so many children excel at the exams.

He pointed out that GuyOil would continue to pledge its support to the students but urged the group to use their time meaningfully by way of reading.

Carberry spoke of the distractions of television in the home and encouraged the students to ignore the images and instead inculcate the habit of reading everyday, which broaden one’s vocabulary and comprehension reach.

The top student was Naresh Mahadeo, who gained 527 marks at CXC and for his sterling academic performance he was given a certificate, a trophy, cash incentive and school supplies.