Despite the constant financial struggles that she faced which threatened to derail her academic dreams, Eshika Singh has persevered and is one of this year’s top Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) students.
The 16-year-old girl who attended the Anna Regina Secondary School and hails from Zorg-en-Vlygt on the Essequibo Coast, was named as the sixth top performing student for Guyana and the fifth for her school after she attained 18 Grade Ones at the 2022 CSEC exams.
Speaking to Stabroek News, Singh said that being financially unstable was one of the greatest disadvantages during her high school life, but it motivated her to write 18 subjects and now she hopes that it will place her in good stead to be awarded a scholarship.
“Attending high school I have encountered many challenges, financial difficulties being the biggest one… living in a rural area with a middle income household with two older siblings, I was headstrong on being the first one in my family to make such an achievement, and also to better improve my chances of securing a scholarship since my parents are not financially capable of sending three of their children to further their tertiary education all at once. Writing eighteen subjects was done with the primary intention of gaining an overseas scholarship to attend a university that is accredited worldwide.”
The young woman noted that although she could not enjoy the experiences of many of her fellow classmates, she was still grateful for what her parents could have afforded to give her. “During the time I have spent in secondary school, my main challenge was not being able to get the same experiences as my other classmates since most were financially better off. I struggled with lesson fees since, my father is a taxi driver and a farm worker, so he does not bring home a large income.”
Singh said that although her father contributed with whatever he could have, she solely depended on her mother, who is a high school teacher, to stand her every expense. “I mainly depended on my mom for funding my lesson fees while my dad would take time off from his busy schedule to take me to and from school and lessons.”
The former Anna Regina student admitted that although she was expecting to do well, hearing her results brought tears to her eyes, since, according to her, when she was little she never took her education seriously, but as time went by and after being faced with certain situations, she decided that it was time to really focus.
“As a little girl growing up I didn’t know the importance of doing well in exams and never really paid attention to any of my end of term performances. Subsequently, in year two of my primary education, my parents parted ways, and my two other siblings and I then accompanied my mother to Georgetown as she pursued her degree at the University of Guyana, whilst my father remained in Essequibo to tend to his rice farm. There I attended the Graham’s Hall Primary School where I struggled to adjust to a new lifestyle, during my short stay at this school, I learnt and experienced many things from the intelligent pupils.”
Singh said that as she started to focus, and was gradually adjusting to her new school, at her sixth year, and due to her mom completing her degree, they had to travel back home to Essequibo where she was transferred to the Fisher Primary, however, the transition was a major setback in her at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), where she hoped to be the top performer.
The young scholar said that knowing the financial status of her family, she made every sacrifice to succeed at all 18 of her subjects in order to be awarded a scholarship to study in the oil and gas field, and with the aim of making her dream a reality of becoming a petroleum or chemical engineer. “Now that I have copped all eighteen ones in my exams my hope is to acquire a scholarship from the government so I could follow my aspirations of becoming a petroleum engineer or a chemical engineer since Guyana has made the extensive discovery of oil and gas, nevertheless, I wish to contribute greatly to my country’s development.”
The aspiring engineer stated that her success came from a strong family bond, support from friends and teachers and importantly a strict study schedule. Her advice to students preparing for any exams would be to prepare a study timetable and stick to it and to attend lessons once they could afford it.
