With some US$100M spent to date by Cuban authorities to host Guyanese scholarship students, 92 new graduates under the Public Service Ministry’s overseas scholarship programme were yesterday urged to be prepared to apply their knowledge in service of national projects.
President Bharrat Jagdeo, delivering the feature address at the annual graduation ceremony held at the National Cultural Centre, urged the graduates to apply their skills “broadly,” adding that he expects them to be aware of all national plans being implemented by the administration. He noted that in the past the student population, the majority of which studied in Cuba, focused on medicine. However, he said areas of study have become diverse, since students were selected based on national tasks to match the needs of the various sectors here.
Jagdeo also noted that if the figures for the Cuban scholarship programme were computed, it would be seen that some US$100M has been spent by the Cuban government there on Guyanese students. He said the support shows the humanitarian nature of the Cuban administration.
Closer to home, Jagdeo said he received reports recently of a student completing his/her studies at a public hospital “walking around with sandals” and “being cool.” As a result, he urged the graduates to dress and operate within the working environment in a professional manner, in order to create a good impression for the person/s seeking their services.
He also urged them to develop multi-cultural skills and values, since according to him many people, especially those from the older generation, “live with bitterness in their hearts.” He stated that the administration over a 15-year period has laid the foundation for growth and transforming the country’s economy to what it is today. ‘We are at the stage of take-off,” he noted, adding that several projects in the energy, agricultural, information technology sectors are being expanded.
Earlier, Public Service Minister Dr Jennifer Westford told the graduates that the policies designed by the ministry are intended for students to excel in the various fields of study. She also said that there was some degree of politics “mixed in everything” and added that they would “have times of hopelessness” within the working environment. However, she urged them to make use of the relevant tools provided to them by the institutions they attended as well as to attempt to innovate within their respective working environments.
Cuba’s ambassador to Guyana, Raul Gortazar Marrero, meanwhile, congratulated the graduates on their achievements and he urged them to always consider the various roles they play within the workplace with professional characteristics, including humility, honesty and simplicity.
The students, most of whom majored in medicine, studied in Cuba, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. Hans Lawrence Madeleke, who studied human medicine, was selected best graduating student in that field after completing a one year attachment here.
