30 J’cans awarded Marcus Garvey scholarship

THIRTY JAMAICANS have received Marcus Garvey Public Sector Scholarships under the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, Marcus Garvey Public Sector Scholarship Programme.

First announced during the 2020/2021 Budget Debate by finance minister, Dr Nigel Clarke, this programme aims to improve the skill set of public sector employees.

This scholarship provides Jamaicans with the opportunity to obtain graduate degrees from any accredited tertiary institution both locally and internationally in fields that are aligned with the country’s strategic priorities.

Speaking at the awards ceremony held at King’s House, Dr Clarke stated, “This initiative is about preparing the next generation of leaders in the public sector from diverse fields ... to ensure that the hard task of running the state bureaucracy will be in the hands of competent and technically capable individuals.”

He added that this scholarship programme is historic as it is one of the largest investments made by the Government to improve the human capacity of the public sector. “This is the Government putting in place something that has not existed before ... This is a scholarship programme that is putting in millions and millions of dollars behind every recipient, the largest scholarship programme in Jamaica’s history,” he added.

In total, $1 billion have been pledged to fund the scholarship over the next five years. All tuition fees for eligible programmes will be covered by the scholarship. Awardees will also be given a stipend that covers monthly living expenses, including meals and accommodations. The cost of transportation, including airfare to and from Jamaica, is also included for awardees studying at overseas universities.

Successful applicants were selected from a list of 46 shortlisted candidates. In total, 185 applications were received by the scholarship secretariat. Awardees came from a wide range of departments and professions, including educators, researchers, guidance counsellors, public health specialists and technicians.

Adding to the significance of the occasion, the awardees were announced on the 134th anniversary of the birthday of Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Garvey, whom the scholarship is named after. Recipients will be going to universities, including the University of Technology, Jamaica, The University of the West Indies, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Cambridge.

Teacher at the Wolmer’s Boys’ School and this year’s scholarship awardee, Patrice Davis, was elated to be selected in the first cohort of recipients. She told The Gleaner, “I am highly appreciative to be selected for this award which will give me the opportunity to pursue higher learning, which would in turn improve the quality of teacher education in Jamaica.”