Seventeen-year-old Parmesh Ramgobin of Charity is one of Region Two’s top performers at the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations.
He obtained 15 grade ones and 5 grade twos at one sitting of the CXC exams at the Anna Regina Multilateral School.
His sacrifices leading up to the examinations were remarkable. During an exclusive interview with Stabroek News, Ramgobin said that there were numerous struggles and challenges he faced during his studies. He said that due to the fact he lives almost at the end of the Coast and the Anna Regina School is located in the town it was really expensive for him to travel.
Ramgobin is from a family of five and his father is a fisherman. He said that the family income could not cover the fees for lessons and examinations and as such he had to find another source of income. He said that he then began to sell chips. He said he started a small business selling fried plantain, cassava, sweet potatoes and chicken foot to nearby shops. This, he said, assisted him in paying for private lessons and internet bills.
“During the pandemic, I had to be home for eight months. During these eight months I had to attend private lessons and there wasn’t a stable internet connection to access work online, the lessons were really expensive and with my father, as a fisherman, he could not afford it”, Ramgobin said.
Ramgobin said that transportation fees were really expensive for him as well. He said that to save some money he would usually spend most of his time with his grandmother who lives at Windsor Castle and would only go home once or twice per week.
“Frying the chips was challenging. I had to wake up early in the morning just to finish a targeted amount of chips for the day. In addition, most of these lessons were during the nights and would dismiss at 8:30 pm, however, my sacrifices paid off”, he said.
The lad said that he is forever grateful for the moral support given to him by his teachers and parents. He said that he attended the Charity Primary and was then awarded a place at the Anna Regina Multilateral School after completing the National Grade Six Assessment examinations. During his time at the Anna Regina school he was actively involved in co-curricular activities which included dancing, rangoli competitions and debating contests. He also participated in the 6th annual youth parliament.
“For me, studies were always my priority. My dream is to become a cardiothoracic surgeon, and to achieve that I decided to sit 20 subjects at the CXC exams. I am hoping with my good performance I will be able to get a scholarship,” Ramgobin said.
Ramgobin’s parents Chandra-wattie and Dinesh Ramgobin said they are both proud of their son’s achievements. His mother Chandrawattie said her son spent sleepless nights during his examinations and she is happy with his grades.
