Fifteen educational institutions received monetary awards from Banks DIH last Thursday evening to continue fostering educational opportunities to the nation.
The awards, which amounted to approximately $4 million in total, were given to technical and non-technical institutes of learning at a Ceremony to Celebrate Education on the 50th Anniversary of the Republic of Guyana, hosted by Banks DIH Limited at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, under the theme ‘A bridge to the future’.
The recipients of the awards are the Carnegie School of Home Economics, the Government Technical Institute, Essequibo, Linden and New Amsterdam Technical Institutes, The Guyana Industrial Training Centre, the Kuru Kuru Training Centre, the Mahaicony Technical and Vocational Centre, the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, the Sophia Training Centre, FORCE GRECO Training Centre, GuySuCo Training Centre, the Mashabo Primary School, the Burnham Education Scholarship Trust (BEST) and STEMGuyana.
Chairman and Managing Director of Banks DIH Clifford Reis, said the company has recognised the importance of an educated nation as he spoke of the benefits of education.
Reis said that his company values education and was happy to celebrate education and the contributions it has made towards nation building.
He reminded that education transforms the life of a person and can put them on the path of success while improving their image in society.
“Education is an essential tool for the craft of a future. The process of being educated is built to teach us that we can achieve anything in life using the tool of education…. The benefits of proper education sets you apart and gives you a life of respect,” Reis stressed.
He also stated that education is the golden key to opening opportunities and can free one from mental slavery.
Meanwhile, President David Granger delivered the main address at the event, where he noted that science education is a vital aid in the country’s economic transformation and is at the centre of transformative changes taking place in the country.
“The Republic is building an ‘education nation’. It is one of the four transformative processes taking place in public policy, the others being the establishment of a ‘green state’, a ‘digital state’ and a ‘petro-state’…In this way, the country will have a more highly-educated workforce. The education nation will promote science education which, fittingly, is at the centre of the transformative changes which are taking place,” he said.
Granger stated that science education is essential to the success of economic transformation and to equipping students with the skills needed for them be integrated into a modern workforce.
The president added that “Science education is the force driving the expansion of communications and the development of the ‘digital state,’ the heart of the exploration and exploitation of our natural resources and the basis of preserving the country’s environment and protecting its biodiversity.”
On this note, he stated they will promote the training of teachers to be the engines of edification as they move towards the goal of having a nation that can access education for a world-class system.
Granger noted that “the education nation will emphasise, also, technical and vocational training, at the post-secondary level. Tech/voc education will aim to ensure that our young people are equipped with employable skills. It will help us to reduce the incidence of young people who are not in education, employment or training [NEET].”
The president hailed the company’s initiative as timely, declaring that “… its support for education is a continuing step in the right direction. I congratulate the company on this initiative and I thank it for this sensible and timely initiative.”
He said that such investment helps to promote the public good and the corporate community has a vested interest in supporting education.
“Education represents a social investment. Education serves the public good by aiming at the total development of society. It contributes to reducing inequality and alleviating poverty. It equips students with the attitude, knowledge, skills, standards and values necessary for their involvement in society and provides for their families,” he highlighted.
The corporate community, he emphasised, has an interest in the public education system which is the main source of the graduates who constitute the workforce. As such, their investment into education helps to build the human resource capital needed for corporate development and success.
“The corporate community functions in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment. It must be able to keep abreast with the pace of change and become more innovative if it is to increase its earnings. The transfer of knowledge occasioned by technological change helps corporations become profitable and proficient,” he added further.
The president also charged the company with considering the option of investing in their own school to cater for the company’s growing needs. By the end of the programme, Paul Carto, the emcee of the night’s event, announced that the company has been in talks and is considering opening the Banks DIH Technical School.
