$350,000 paid to current and past Community College Students
Last Friday, February 28, 2025, 701 current and past students of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) received an annual payout amounting to a total of $351,000.
Speaking at the ceremony held at the College’s Division of Arts, Science, and General Studies Campus, Minister of Education, Curtis King, said the cash award of $500 to each recipient, is not the measure of the government’s value on education which remains a national priority. He pointed out that education takes up 14% or $250,000 of the $1.84 billion National Budget.
“Too often, persons think that because you have been awarded five hundred dollars, that is the sum of the contribution of the government to your own educational development, but that’s short of it.”
King said despite the cost of over $870 million to infrastructure repairs due to destruction by Hurricane Beryl, the government was about to shell out $351,000 for the students, “so yes, we have a lot to do in terms of recovery, but we cannot ignore our commitment to the education of our students”.
Providing a breakdown, King noted that 356 students from the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) programme; 170 from the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Education (CAPE) level; 119 Associate Degree students; and 56 students from the Division of Teacher Education each received the $500 incentive payment.
“Some of you might say ‘we could make a lot more money by engaging in illicit activities’…I would say yes, that might be so, but remember always that money could be stolen from you, but no one, absolutely no one can take your education from you,” King pointed out.
To be a recipient of the annual $500 award, students must have : obtained CSEC passes in at least five subjects with grades 1 to 3, including maths and English language; obtained grades 1 to 5 at the CAPE level in at least two 2-unit subjects, which must include passes in Communication Studies or another single-unit course, all of which must have been obtained within two consecutive years. Associate degree students must have achieved a B average or higher in their programme; and teacher education students must have maintained a GPA of at least 2.75.
Most past and current students of the SVGCC who spoke with SEARCHLIGHT shared similar plans to save their money to invest in their education.
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