CSEC achievers from St Catherine high schools get Custos Bursary Awards

Twenty-two students from St Catherine government high schools were presented with $25,000 each to assist with their education as they matriculated to sixth form after successfully gaining distinctions in eight or more subjects at CSEC.

Custos of St Catherine Jeffrey McKenzie initiated the inaugural bursary presentations in a ceremony aimed at saluting excellence, hosted by him at the Phillippo Baptist Church in Spanish Town on Wednesday, September 12, in which he expended over half a million dollars to the cause.

"I have come upon some money and I made the decision that there is no better way to spend it than assisting our top achievers in the CSEC," McKenzie disclosed.

"As a parish, we must recognise persons who have shown excellence in their field, and these students have achieved this, so we are presenting them with $25,000 each to assist with school supplies," he continued.

Annual Event

According to the custos, this bursary presentation is the beginning of what will be an annual event hosted by him.

Guest speaker at the ceremony, Region 5 director in the Ministry of Education, Dr Nadine Leachman, said that the ministry fully supports the initiative by the custos.

"The ministry recognised the effort by the custos to invest in education. He has taken it to a new height and he has our support," she said.

To the students she said: "A lot has been invested, you have burnt the midnight oil and you deserve to reap something good.

"Don't let nobody think that they can stop you from achieving. Jamaica's future rests in strengthening the education system and correcting the wrongs of the past, and you are best poised to achieve this," she told the students.

Dinthill student Jahvaine Currie, who got 10 subjects with distinctions, among them mathematics, English, physics, chemistry, biology and agricultural science, said he was delighted by the gesture.

"My parents are struggling to send me to school and this will assist greatly," he told The Gleaner.