SEA champs receive ECU awards

ISRAEL RAMJOHN, the Morvant Anglican School student who placed an overall second in this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination, is once again in winners’ row. He was among 54 SEA students who won awards from the Eastern Credit Union (ECU). For every year of his stay at Queen’s Royal College, he will receive $500 to help with his education expenses. Similar awards have been made to the other 48 students, including, this year’s junior calypso monarch, Sheynenne Hazel, who is also an Eastern shareholder. Two individuals who are to enter the Cipriani College of Labour and Coopera-tive Studies also received ECU awards. Two students who are in their second year at the University of the West Indies at St Augustine, also received awards.

Jamaal Lewis, who is to enter the Cipriani College of Labour and Coopera-tive Studies, also received an award to help with his studies. In all, Eastern is spending $40,000 on education over the next year. Presentation of awards took place last Wednesday at Eastern’s La Joya, St Joseph headquarters. In a short address, Eastern president Gary Cross explained that the awards were based on merit and economic needs. He said Eastern was bound to pursue its mission of celebrating achievements and encouraging young people along the path of excellence. “In the entire credit union system, we operate with guiding principles, including democratic control, mutual support, distribution of profits and surpluses to those persons who created it in the first place, the owners and members,” said Cross. He added, “We are duty-bound to educate, inform and train our people at all levels.

According to law, we are obligated to set aside a portion of our profits for education and development of our people.” In a word to parents, Cross said, “You need to embrace and encourage these young students through working closely with schools, mosques, mandirs, churches and community-based institutions. Satish Ramroop, Minister in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, who attended the ceremony, said his Ministry strongly supported initiatives concerned with increasing access to education through the award of scholarships, promoting student excellence by performance and achievements. He said the ministry would also support the establishment of needs-based awards like bursaries and grants, to assist those persons who are generally unable to afford participation in education progammes, but are academically-prepared.