90 students graduate through Hinterland Scholarship Programme; 83 per cent CSEC pass rate recorded

Ninety students who completed their secondary education under the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs’ Hinterland Scholarship Division have graduated, poised to pursue their dreams.

The division hosted its annual graduation ceremony at Umana Yana, Kingston Georgetown, on Friday evening.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, Permanent Secretary Ryan Toolsiram, Member of Parliament Lee Williams, Parliamentary Secretary to the minister, Sarah Browne-Shadeek, and Deputy Chief Education Officer Marti De Souza, among others, attended the ceremony.

The ministry invested over $4 million in the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) examinations, resulting in an impressive 83 per cent pass rate for 2023. Students achieved a total of 207 Grade Ones, 310 Grade Twos, and 165 Grade Threes.

Minister Sukhai encouraged the graduates to seize the unfolding opportunities in Guyana’s rapidly transforming landscape, emphasising the importance of being well-rounded individuals.

She highlighted additional educational opportunities through programmes like the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarship and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), providing technical and vocational training.

“When you are focusing on the young people and you’re expecting the academics to kick in, we also must be able to provide that guidance that they should aim to be all rounded, they must be rounded individuals … I believe its sound advice that we have to spend time developing other areas that make ourselves a rounded personality,” the minister expressed.

Meanwhile, Browne-Shadeek, in her address to the graduates, urged them to remember their roots. Currently, over 700 students from Amerindian and hinterland communities are pursuing secondary education through the scholarship programme, with a total allocation of $93.3 million in the government’s national fiscal plan for 2023.