A total of fifty indigenous youths, drawn from hinterland villages across the country, were awarded scholarships through the Ministry of Public Service to attend the University of Guyana (UG).
Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai made this announcement during an outreach in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region on Monday, the ministry said in a release. She explained that this number represents 25 percent of the 200 scholarships that are being awarded to students this year.
“I have received correspondence from the Public Service Ministry stating that the children we helped apply for scholarships to the University of Guyana, were successful this year and it is probably breaking records.” This, Minister Sukhai said, is significant because it shows that indigenous peoples are competing with the rest of the nation’s youths to qualify themselves at the nation’s highest educational institution. It is also part of the Government’s commitment to ensure that indigenous peoples have access to resources and are provided with opportunities as those available on the coast.
“We really worked with those students who were awaiting their results and waiting to be accepted into the University of Guyana. We were calling the University every day and we are happy that 50 of the students were successful. So, if every year we can get that same amount into the University, we will have a high number of indigenous and hinterland students getting scholarships.”
Additionally, under the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs Hinterland Scholarship Programme, students who were successful at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) will be given the opportunity to attend secondary schools on the coast. Tertiary-level students also received scholarships to attend the Government Technical Institute (GTI), the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA), Carnegie School of Home Economics, the E.R. Burrowes School of Art, and the Guyana Industrial Training Centre.
