Bush Lot girl triumphed without electricity
This year’s top student for Region Five at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, 16-year-old Chitranjan Jaikissoon of Bush Lot Secondary School is “elated and excited” with his success.
He has secured passes in ten subjects including six grade ones with distinction in Agriculture Science, Mathematics, English and Human & Social Biology. He told this newspaper in an interview after receiving his results that he “expected to do well but not to top the region.”
While he is not satisfied overall and felt he could have gotten more grade one passes for all the sacrifice he made, he was more than happy with the distinction he gained in Agriculture Science.
According to him the teacher had to go on leave a few months before the exams and he and the other students studied on their own. Luckily, the teacher had “completed the syllabus and told us what to do. We had already finished our SBAs [School-Based Assessments].”
Jaikissoon said his achievement did not come easily and recalled that he studied from 7 pm to 2 am. He also said that he did a lot of research on his own and took extra lessons.
He thanked God for his success and was also grateful to his teachers as well as his father, Ramesh and his mother, Deoranie who “never went to bed and left me studying; she stayed up with me until I was finished.”
Jaikissoon who said he did a lot of research and took extra lessons, advised other students sitting the CSEC to be “focused and determined and you too can achieve good grades.”
He intends to move on to study for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exams (CAPE) although he is not sure if he wants to do a course in law or Chemistry or if it would be possible for him to do both.
He told this newspaper that he had placed third in the region at the National Grade Six Assessment and was awarded a placed at Queen’s College but went to President’s College instead for one year before moving back to Bush Lot Secondary.
The proud headmistress told Stabroek News that after receiving the news that her school had topped the region she “felt great and so excited.”
She said too that the school is short-staffed but she was able to get the teachers to “fit in. I treat them good so they were good to me too. I hope that the other students continue in the same vein and strive for higher heights and by God’s grace we can do it.”
Fifteen-year-old Khamelia Jameer has emerged the top student of the Mahaicony Secondary School. She has secured five grade one passes with three distinctions, three grade twos and two grade threes.
She told this newspaper that she achieved her grades by the “grace of God because I prayed a lot.” She also excelled “through the encouragement of my teachers, my father, Allie Jameer and my mother, Seelochanie and my friends.”
She said that apart from what she was taught in school she “did extra studies and attended extra classes.” Her advice to other students preparing for CSEC: “to attain good grades you have to believe in yourself. You have to think positive and try your best and no matter how hard it [exams] seems you would have success.”
Further, the Bush Lot New Housing Scheme resident was happy that the fact that she studied with a hand lamp did not prevent her from doing well.
She said the lamp “affected my eyes and made me sleepy, tired and drained the next day but I focused on my goals and I kept aiming toward it. All my years at secondary school I had no electricity but I was still the top performer of the National Grade Nine Exams.”
The scheme has only recently gotten electricity and for that she is extremely happy as “I would be advancing in studies and at least I can get to use the computer to do my research.”
The youngest in her class, Khamelia who wants to become a doctor said she is considering enrolling for CAPE before attending the University of Guyana to do a course in medicine.
Dhankumarie Singh, 16, also of Bush Lot New Housing Scheme has also done the Bush Lot Secondary proud with her eight subjects which include four grade ones with two distinctions. She too used a hand lamp to study and although she found it difficult that did not stop her because “I knew it would pay off in the end.”
She said shortly after returning home from school she would start her studies and would continue until 11 pm. She told Stabroek News she expected to do well because she always placed first in her class. But that was before she started getting competition from Chitranjan in fourth form.
The soft-spoken Dhankumarie who intends to pursue a career in nursing would like to “thank God first for giving me the courage and guidance and my parents, Ramdeo and Puniakumarie Singh” for her success. She too said that the extra lessons were a boost for her.
Top student of the Bygeval Multilateral is Petriana Surujpaul while Shamela Rahim has topped the Rosignol Secondary. Remarkably, Margaret Eastman a student of the Number 29 Primary School secured several subjects at the CSEC including four grade ones with two distinctions.