FROM NEXT YEAR, the Government of Barbados will be awarding national athletic scholarships to Barbadian students.
Minister of Education, Science Technology and Innovation, Ronald Jones, made this disclosure yesterday, while meeting with this year’s Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) Scholarship and Exhibition winners at the Ministry’s Constitution Road headquarters.
According to him, every year Barbadian students excelled at athletic events like the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletic Championships (BSSAC) and the National Primary Schools’ Athletics Championships (NAPSAC), but were not adequately rewarded for their contribution. He added that a small number of persons would be awarded next year, with the number growing over time.
“Many of our children are doing well athletically; when you go to BSSAC and NAPSAC they are running well and doing well, so we must support this form of learning…. There are students who may not be the most brilliant academically, but they are brilliant in what we call psychomotor learning.
“We support Usain Bolt in this part of the world. We can also develop a Usain Bolt, but we have to put the resources behind the athletes to ensure that they really blossom and reach their potential,” he stressed.
Jones also revealed that The Alexandra School would have a sixth form from this academic year and that other schools were expected to follow. “…So there will be nine schools entering students to write Unit I or Unit II in CAPE next year. We will progressively add more as resources become available and as the quality of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) rises,” he stated.
The Minister also lauded the 2015 scholarship winners. He noted that they were among the “brightest and the best” in the country, and urged them to do their best. “There is no mountain that is too high or hurdle you cannot leap over. Go out there and conquer the world; innovate, create, make things for the world, but retain your humanity. Respect others, be caring and share what you have with others,” he advised.
There were 54 Scholarship and Exhibition winners this year .(BGIS)
