PEP high achievers receive scholarships

The Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Government Scholarship Awards Ceremony 2021 was held virtually by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Information (MOEYI) on Tuesday. The ceremony presented four special awards, each worth $180,000, to students who received perfect scores on their assessments.

The four honourees of the special awards were: Adrianna McDougal – J.A.G. Smith Scholarship; Oshane Ellis – Marcus Garvey Scholarship; Dajanique Hylton – Paul Bogle Scholarship, and Kayla Callum – George William Gordon Scholarship.

Maureen Dwyer, acting permanent secretary in the MOEYI, commended the overall 29 scholarship winners for their remarkable performances in the wake of adversities brought on by the pandemic.

The scholarship recipients comprised 14 boys and 14 girls across the island who received near-perfect scores. The vast majority of them have matriculated from their respective primary schools to Campion College in Kingston.

“We celebrate with you, as we reflect with pride and joy on your success and desire to see you continue as you soar your path of excellence in your pursuit in education,” said Dwyer.

She explained that the MOEYI would continue to engage with all teachers by organising workshops, which will be led by the Student Assessment Unit and the ministry’s Core Curriculum Unit, in order to enable more teachers to do a better job of preparing the nation’s pupils.

“This is our collective commitment as we want to see more students meeting the criteria to be recipients of scholarships,” she added.

Fayval Williams, minister of education, praised the youngsters’ determination and willpower to succeed, despite the ongoing pandemic. She also lauds the efforts of parents, teachers and principals, as well as other administrative members, who would have influenced the lives of recipients and helped them excel.

She advised children to keep up their ‘can-do’ attitudes and dedication so that they can continue to reap the advantages of success by achieving their goals and making themselves and their families proud.

“Education unlocks doors to new worlds,” said Williams, as she told the students that the next five to seven years of their academic journey in secondary schools will be an exciting time of discovery, despite the life hurdles that may arise. It is these obstacles, Williams said, that will provide children with learning opportunities and assist them to navigate through the various stages of their lives.

“Today’s celebration is a reminder that we can overcome adversity,” said Williams, as she reiterated the ministry’s plans to introduce the specialist teacher model in primary schools, which will allow more pupils to achieve higher levels of excellence.

By rearranging the delivery of teaching to target essential subject areas such as mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies, the MOEYI hopes to increase student achievement. “We expect to see improved results in the educational performance of our students. We also expect that our teachers will have a more satisfying teaching and learning experience,” she said.