69 students graduate from Hinterland Scholarship Programme - urged not to depart from their culture
Written by Gina Webmasters, Published in News, Georgetown, GINA, July 2, 2015, Source
For Kevon Fredericks of Region Two, his five years of obtaining secondary education through the Hinterland Scholarship Programme was a life changing experience, since he was given the opportunity to write as many subjects as he wanted at the Caribbean Secondary Examinations Council (CSEC), without any financial burden on his parents, and also a stipend to assist in purchasing text books that he needed.
Fredericks is one of the 69 students hailing from different hinterland regions, who were awarded scholarships under the Hinterland Scholarship Programme. Fredericks said that the programme is not without challenges; however, with the support and guidance from the staff of the programme and his parents, he, with his strong and confident mind, was able to overcome those challenges.
Holika Klass, of Region Ten, noted that the programme was a remarkable climb to success, where she was exposed to quality education, meeting new friends and learning their culture. She pointed out that she is proud to be a 2015 graduand and therefore recognises this stride as a solid foundation for her future endeavours.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony held at the Arthur Chung International Convention Centre (ACICC), Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, noted how proud she was to see so many promising Indigenous students graduating.
New Journey
Being a hinterland student herself, Minister Garrido-Lowe told the students that she fully understands the challenges and humiliation they face when pursuing their education away from home. This, she said, is something the new Administration will address.
“Graduating from the Hinterland Scholarship Programme is no easy task; few would understand the sacrifices you have made... They see our cassava bread, roast pork and fish, sweet piwari and other beverages, and don’t understand that it is normal food, she noted. Nevertheless, she urged the students to always maintain their culture, especially their languages and food, and that they must always be proud of who they are, even as they move on to higher institutes of learning.
This is the beginning of a new journey, she told the students, a journey which can lead them to wonderful places. “I see in front of me the future of Guyana and more importantly the future leaders of our Indigenous population. You are the workers of tomorrow. Our President has said many times that educating Hinterland people is of vital importance, that the Hinterland is not another country, it is part of Guyana.”
She said that the Government is looking at establishing technical institutes in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine, so that the students can access technical education in their respective regions. Agriculture institutes will also be established, the Minister added.
“…we need our log officers, land surveyors, heavy - duty machine operators. We need persons to be more involved in the demarcation process, because we know our lands and our boundaries. .We also need geologists and environmentalists, more doctors and nurses to fill our health posts and centres; we need more Indigenous lawyers and IT technicians. All of you can play your part, in not only promoting and safeguarding our cultural heritage, but in developing this beautiful country,” Minister Lowe explained.
Meanwhile, Minister of Education, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, said he was delighted to be associated with the graduation exercise of a programme (Hinterland Scholarship) that preceded the country’s political independence.
Equitable education
Minister Roopnaraine noted that one of the principal goals of the Administration and particularly the Education Ministry is to seek to significantly build equity in the public education system across the country.
The aim is to ensure that there will not be significant changes in the education of any child who is transferred from the Coast to the Hinterland, Minister Roopnaraine noted. He said that while attempts were made to build regional schools up to a standard to those on the coast, “We cannot and will not simply aim to reproduce the quality of education and curriculum in a unilateral erection from coast to hinterland. Much of Guyana’s history is being informed by the simplistic belief that the coast offers significantly more of an education to someone from the Hinterland, than to someone from the coast.”
In an era in which sustainable development of the country’s natural resources and natural environment is emerging as critical to global human survival, Dr Roopnaraine stated that, “We are fast approaching an age where the traditional cultural knowledge of our primarily untouched hinterland, the capacity to live harmoniously with the natural environment is quickly gaining premium value.”
From the local production of the Rupununi Music Festival to television shows like ‘Naked and Afraid’ which was recently filmed in Guyana, there is an increasing number of academic researchers across the wide spectrum of academic disciplines who are venturing into the regions.
The Minister noted that clearly, there is an upsurge as it relates to the recognition of the values, in particular the unique education that the Hinterland has to offer. And it is against this background he would like to see promising students from the coast be afforded the opportunity to learn in an environment which reflects the true wealth of Guyana's landscape. “In essence, even as we seek to build on the gains of this historic scholarship, we also have to start rethinking the mechanics of it, to offer more of an exchange programme than in a unidirectional mechanism… it is time we start recognising that we have a great deal to learn from the Hinterland,” He further noted.
The Hinterland Scholarship Programme, that affords academic opportunities at both the secondary and tertiary levels, allows for the integration of Hinterland students, into the wider Guyanese society, and provides them with quality secondary and technical education, not accessible in their communities.
This programme offers two types of scholarships, the regional and national. It is supported by the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, and provides students with a monthly stipend, school necessities, accommodation and meals.
For the regional aspect, students are required to obtain 470 marks at the National Grade Six Examinations, while for the national level, students are required to obtain more than 480 marks, to be awarded schools in Georgetown and its environs. (END)
