Education Minister announed Five Scholarship Recipients in Grand Bahama

Fri, Jul 31st 2015, 03:03 PM

Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald on Thursday afternoon announced the five high school graduates from the public school system in Grand Bahama who have been awarded full scholarships to attend colleges abroad.

The five are: Angelo Dames and Ajayi Oliver from Sir Jack Hayward High School and Livia Duncombe, Lemuel Bain and Ebony Bowe from the St Georges High School. Duncombe, Bowe and Bain will attend Holland College, while Dames and Oliver will further their education at Monroe College.

Addressing the students, parents and some teachers during a press conference at the Ministry for Grand Bahama, the Minister said the occasion marks yet another milestone for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

He said that when he assumed Ministerial position for Education he made a commitment to increase scholarship opportunities for students in the public school system and that he was surprised to learn back then that only seven percent of the scholarships being awarded in the country was given to public school children.

“To ensure that I was able to deliver on that promise, I engaged the expertise of Mrs. Monique Hinsey, a scholarship and college expert. Mrs. Hinsey is well-known for having fostered great relationships with colleges and universities throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean,” Mr. Fitzgerald said.

Further, he informed that the Scholarship Outreach Initiative was launched in the Fall of 2014 for the purpose of leveraging the existing Ministry of Education scholarships available annually.

Through Scholarship Outreach, the Ministry of Education is partnering with international colleges and universities to offer the dream of a college education to students in the public school system who would not have had the financial support to attend college abroad.

The Education chief also advised that his Ministry is working very closely with many institutions to close the financial gap preventing many students from embracing higher education.

He said that this year’s success is the result of positive partnerships on the collaboration of institutions to promote college access for more Bahamian students.

He added that this first year they were able to give out twenty-five full scholarships to Bahamian students in the public school system throughout the country, and that they expect that number to increase to over 50 next year to over 100 the following year.

The Education Minister also said that his Ministry’s most significant institutional partner to date is Monroe College in New Rochelle, New York, and that institution is partnering with the MOE to give $1million worth of scholarship for 12 public school students from Nassau and Grand Bahama for the next four years.

These students will be receiving a full scholarship award to attend Monroe College, valuing more than $22,000 anually.

Likewise, he said his Ministry’s partnership with Taylor University has secured two scholarships. Also, that Holland College is offering an annual partial scholarship to every public school student interested in pursuing studies in career fields that are of a demanding need to the country.

“In the spirit of partnership, the Ministry has agreed to offer a guaranteed grant valued $7,500.00 annually towards the selected candidate for the completion of the agreed program of study,” the Minister informed.

Continuing, Mr. Fitzgerald disclosed that the Ministry of Education’s Scholarship and Loans Division and the Scholarship Resource Centre is working very closely with colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to close the financial gap that many of our first generational public school students who are pursuing college education are being confronted with annually.

He noted that his Ministry is also working to bring public secondary schools in alignment with best practices to ensure that students are graduating college-ready.

According to the Minister, at present fewer than 20 percent of the students graduating from the public secondary high schools in The Bahamas transition to pursue post-secondary education.

“There are a number of identifiable variables that may account for this but the most obvious are the financial barriers prohibiting students’ access to local and international scholarships and financial aid opportunities.

“To this end, over the past three years, the Government has increased scholarship grants from $13 million to $22 million, inclusive of scholarship and financial aid to BTVI,” the Minister said.

The overarching goal of the Scholarship Outreach Initiative according to Mr. Fitzgerald is to leverage the existing Ministry of Education scholarship budget available by partnering with international colleges and universities to establish the financial capacity for more Bahamian public school graduates to obtain a college education.

“The Ministry will partner with institutions to offer a guaranteed grant. The grant will range from $7,500.00 US but will not exceed $10,000.00 US per academic year. The institution is required to offer a matching grant of equal or higher value annually,” he said.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS - Minister for Education, Science and Technology the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald is pictured, centre, along with the Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville and the five Grand Bahama students being awarded scholarships to attend college. Left to right are: Angelo Dames, Lemuel Bain, Ebony Bowe, Mr. Fitzgerald, Dr. Darville, Livia Duncombe and Ajayi Oliver. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)

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