GECCU continues to support education

In spite of the harsh economic times, the General Employees Corporative Credit Union (GECCU) has managed to increase the number of scholarships offered to students successful in the Common Entrance Examination.{{more}}

Newly elected president of the GECCU Kelvin Pompey speaking at the 7th Annual GECCU Awards ceremony said that the Union will award scholarships to seven students and cash bursaries to 128 students this year, an increase from last year’s figure of 92 students.

The award ceremony was held on Wednesday, August 12, 2009, at the Methodist Church Hall.

The seven scholarship awardees: Phil Bowman, Te Jay Cordice, A Jay Cordice, Rhea Cain, Nafeesha Richardson, Kiara Bailey and Union Island student Akinsanya DeFreitas were chosen from among 145 applicants, of which 135 students were successful in the Common Entrance Examinations. The students will each receive $1,400 a year from Forms One to Three and $1,600 yearly from Form Four to Five onto the two years at A’ level College.

Pompey declared that GECCU is committed to the education of the nation’s youth and stated that the education of young people is too important to cause any economic downturn to lessen their drive. During his address, Pompey also urged the students to add value and interest to the Union’s investment in their education. He urged them to study hard and be good students who will make their parents and GECCU proud.

Pompey further charged parents in attendance to be actively involved in their children’s lives. “You should not have to visit YouTube or Facebook to see what your child is like or who their friends are. You should be your child’s best friend,” he said.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Senior Education Officer Carlton Hall, said that he thinks the selection of children based on academic performance should be revised. Hall said that although a child does not perform exceptionally well, it doesn’t mean that the child doesn’t have the potential to excel. “If you examine those who did not do exceptionally well, you may find that most scholarships are needed at this level,” he said.

Hall throughout his speech stressed the importance of children staying focused on their education and staying in school. He stated that there is no place in the world for an uneducated child. Hall also addressed parents, urging them to continue to support their children who will encounter many difficulties as they establish a sense of self in secondary school.

Stating that there is an absence of parents in their children’s lives at school, Hall said that the Ministry of Education is doing more to help parents, especially young ones, who may have difficulty understand the child’s needs during secondary school.

The Methodist Hall packed with children and their parents enjoyed a cultural package from Shervell “Candyman” McMillan who amused the audience with his “Candyman School Survival Package” which included Study Carefully Relative Information Before (SCRIB) a test and Test Another student Language Knowledge (TALK) while a teacher is not in class. The children also heard inspiring words from past GECCU Scholar Peter Marshall who through a short story urged the children to follow their dreams applying hard work and action to see those dreams become a reality.