A portion of the 417 bursary scholarship recipients during the award ceremony at the Performance Centre of The College of The Bahamas on Saturday. The students received scholarships totaling over $2 million. (Photo: Ahvia J. Campbell)
With bursaries totaling $2,085,000 per year for 417 students to be able to attend The College of The Bahamas (COB), scholarship recipients were reminded by Prime Minister Perry Christie that the funding to provide them with the opportunity to pursue tertiary education by the government was made possible through the taxes of ordinary men and women.
Christie told the students that while they would not be able to thank every person, they could do so symbolically by excelling in their studies.
Scholarships valued at approximately $2,500 per student per semester, equating to $5,000 per student per year were doled out. The bursary scholarships were made available specifically to students to attend COB so that more students can be provided with an opportunity to pursue tertiary education at home.
"We are counting on your research, innovation and enterprise so that we are able to continue this cycle of giving and providing for a next generation of deserving Bahamians. At the end of your educational journey you will realize the power of education to transform an individual's life, and I hope that your lives become a testimony of the limitless power of education," said the prime minister.
Of the recipients, 105 obtained eight or more Bahamas General Certificates of Secondary Education (BGCSE) with grades between A to C -- 58 students obtained eight BGCSE's, 37 obtained nine BGCSE's, six students obtained 10 BGCSEs and four students obtained 12 BGCSEs.
To maintain their scholarships at COB the students have to maintain a 3.00 grade point average (GPA) or higher and have to purse 15 or more credits each academic year.
"This award is something to be proud of. All of these students have earned this and are well-deserving. This is not a handout -- this is an investment in our young people," said Christie.
The Bursary scholarship is one of the oldest in the country, dating back to 1978, two years after COB opened its doors as a unified tertiary institution.
"Just five years after our country would have gained its independence, this scholarship was established, and from then to now it has liberated, empowered and allowed scores of Bahamians to experience personal and financial independence as a result of having received a tertiary education," said Christie.
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