After 48 years of being known as the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, the institution which offers a diverse range of technical and vocational subjects, was renamed Thursday night.
It is now called the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology and the abbreviation will be SJPI.
The ceremonial renaming of the Wildey, St Michael institution and the unveiling of the plaque was done by Minister of Education Ronald Jones.
Principal Hector Belle gave the reason for the name change.
“This name reflects the focus and quality of education and training which we offer to drive not only our economy but that of the region,” he said.
“Our programmes are not only technology programmes but are technologically driven. It is supported with a new vision being a centre of excellence for technical and vocational education and training in Barbados and the region responding to the needs of the job market and the economy.”
Acting Systems Database Administrator Grantley Robinson called on the Ministry of Education to change the National Scholarship framework to allow the SJPI students to be included.
Noting that he had spoken to the minister privately, Robinson said: “We, in this technical arena, require the same opportunities as everyone else in society and I’m calling on the Ministry of Education to have that framework with scholarships set up so that we can reward those who achieve excellence.”
Like Campus Registrar Hyacinth Collymore, he encouraged graduates to “return to the fold of the SJPI” and join the alumni association.
Collymore, who launched the association, said while the idea was not a new one, it was an opportunity for all former students to give back and among other things, build meaningful relationships and camaraderie among students and “ourselves”.
She said that students and alumni would be engaged to allow for the perpetuation of ties and traditions as well as to “actively recruit our alumni to aid in the work of the advancement of this institution”.
The registrar also called on the graduates to “come together and commit to” making a difference to the institution from which they received their training.
“I want us to commit to sharing our ideas, to commit to giving our time to inspire, to give of our resources and our skills to the students through our job attachments, and to give of our money through our scholarships that we will sponsor our students. The alumni is providing all of us with an outlet which we probably would have searched for and didn’t have an opportunity to give, we’re giving you an outlet to give back to the SJPI,” she said.
Donations can be made through the website and cards. (GBM)
