A total of 96 students pursuing their secondary education under the Hinterland Scholarship Programme (HSP), facilitated by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, have once again been recognised for their outstanding performances at various secondary institutions within the capital city and beyond.
These students mainly comprised of form five students who recently sat the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
Held at the Umana Yana, Kingston, Georgetown, the ceremony was graced by the presence of Minister within the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry, Valerie Garrido-Lowe; Permanent Secretary, Alfred King; Member of Parliament (MP) and Ministerial Advisor, Mervin Williams and family members of the graduates.
Minister Garrido-Lowe, who was tasked with delivering the feature address at the auspicious ceremony, in her address to the graduates, expressed great satisfaction towards students of the respective regions taking advantage of and greatly benefitting from the programme which will in turn help to develop their communities.
“It is very pleasing that we are sending skilled persons into the respective regions to better their communities… Human Capital Development is a front-burner subject of any Government’s agenda. Our Government is proud of the fact that we have been allocating much more resources towards this cause, and is evidenced in the way we approach development in Guyana.” The Department of Public Information (DPI) quoted Garrido-Lowe saying.
The Minister further reiterated that her Ministry is continually developing and putting measures in place to aid in the development of the country’s people, while further urging the students to pursue higher education.
“We need more educators, health workers, professional agriculturists and business people. The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs has been tirelessly doing its part and will continue to push harder for real-time development of our peoples…We need technical and qualified people to carry out these initiatives to the highest level” she underscored.
In addition, Member of Parliament (MP) and Ministerial Advisor, Mervin Williams in his brief remarks also admonished the students to grasp opportunities as they become available while reassuring them that they will continue to have the Government’s support in their educational journey.
The HSP initiative was developed with the goal of assisting and motivating students to aspire their educational, social and cultural potentials and presently has 608 students who are enrolled in the programme across all ten administrative regions.
