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THE Ministry of Education (MoE) awarded several young Guyanese who emerged as outstanding performers nationally and regionally during the academic year 2017/2018.
Speaking at the 22nd National Award Ceremony held at the National Cultural Centre on Friday, Minister of Education Dr. Nicolette Henry said: “Today the entire MoE is here to taste and celebrate that greatness of your hard work and to celebrate your success and to applaud your determination and perseverance towards your work.”
“By now, you all would have recognised that the road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it is possible to achieve any- if not all- of your dreams,” she remarked.
And in pursuing their dreams, the Minister said that hard work must be rewarded because the results reaped were not achieved through luck or chance.
The award ceremony, according to the education minister, started in October 1990 as a way of acknowledging students that have done exceptionally well in their academics and those who achieved certain score thresholds in the different examinations.
She said that the exercise also serves the purpose of encouraging the students to strive for excellence.
Starting off the awards were this year’s top National Grade Six Assessment pupils: Naila Rahaman from Westfield Prep, Marks Arthur Roberts from the New Guyana School and
Kaydee Ali from the Success Elementary School.
The awardees for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC)- Junior Secondary- were: Shakira Bholo from the Anna Regina Secondary, Salma Majeed from the ISA Islamic School, Camecia De La Cruz and Begum Baksh from the Anna Regina Secondary and Darshanie Jadubir from the J.C Chandisingh Secondary School, in Berbice.
In the Senior Secondary School category, all the CSEC awardees hailed from Queen’s College. They were: Christian Pile, Areeb Ali, Haema Dasrath, Aarti Hooblall, Leshanna Bindah, Reseda Hack and Yashoda Samaroo.
Pile was also adjudged Guyana’s Best Performing CSEC student, and both he and Bholo received the Presidential Scholarship award for copping 19 Grade One passes each.
Some of the students also managed to bag Regional Awards for their performances at CSEC and CAPE.
Leading the pack was Aadilah Alli, who walked away with the most awards at the end of the ceremony. She was awarded for being Guyana’s and the Region’s top CAPE student and top CAPE Natural Sciences student. Alli won the Presidential Scholarship award as well.
Her colleague, Muneshwar, is the Region’s top CAPE Mathematics student and he too received the Presidential Scholarship award. Other outstanding performers at the CAPE examinations include Michael Bhopaul and Sariah Singh, both from Queen’s College.
In the CSEC realm, three students were awarded for topping the region. Salma Majeed was awarded Most Outstanding Student in Humanities; Rebekah Persaud from the St. Rose’s High was the Most Outstanding in Business and Daniel Baldeo-Thorne from Queen’s College was Most Outstanding in Sciences.
Giving brief remarks, Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson said that no one can challenge the fact that education is critical to the development of a nation. He said that many of the problems in society stem from the lack of education, such as poverty, racism and poor value systems.
But while many were celebrated for their academic achievements at the structured exams, Hutson also remarked that students who pursue Technical and Vocational studies are equally as important and in fact, have a critical role to play in the transformation of Guyana.
As such, several technical awards were given.
Outstanding performers in the Guyana Technical Education Examination 2018 were awarded also. From the Linden Technical Institute, was Jermaine Bonus and Linslyn Halley; Okechi Farley, from the GuySuCo Training Centre; Shurlon Tudor and Aaliyah Noble from the Georgetown Technical Institute and Bibi Ali from the New Amsterdam Technical Institute.
Special awards were also given to: Shania Khan from the Three Miles Secondary School in Bartica, who won the Desrey Fox Scholarship Award; Anjalie Sookra from the Berbice High School for being the best CSEC candidate with a disability and Annmarie Issardeen-Samaroo from the Vreed-en-Hoop In-Service Centre who is the Best Graduating Student from the Cyril Potter College of Education.
Schools were also awarded for improved performances. Thomas Moore Primary was the most improved Primary School, while the New Amsterdam and Sand Creek Secondary Schools were the most improved senior and junior schools.
