El Do East grabs schol

PROUD: Dr Parmanand Maharaj and his wife Sandra Gajraj-Maharaj with their daughter Saanjali Maharaj formerly of SAGHS, who won the President’s Medal. PHOTO BY SUREASH CHOLAI
PROUD: Dr Parmanand Maharaj and his wife Sandra Gajraj-Maharaj with their daughter Saanjali Maharaj formerly of SAGHS, who won the President’s Medal. PHOTO BY SUREASH CHOLAI

More than a year after being in the spotlight for serious indiscipline problems, El Dorado East Secondary School yesterday basked in the glory of having one of its students achieve a national scholarship in the 2017 CAPE exams. It was announced yesterday that Ajay Ramjit had won an Additional Scholarship in Natural Sciences.

Ramjit is one of 382 male and female students to earn national scholarships based on their 2017 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations results; 153 open and 229 additional scholarships have been awarded. Education Minister Anthony Garcia praised the work being done at El Dorado East during a press conference to announce the President’s Medal winners, held at the ministry’s head office, St Vincent Street, Port of Spain.

“Last year February, we had cause to visit El Dorado East because of complaints from parents, teachers and even some students, about the high level of indiscipline. We had to remove 24 students and send them to learning enhancement centres. The responses of those students to the support that they were given has been excellent.

“Some of those who returned to the school continue to settle down but the school has seen a tremendous turnover, so that today, one of their own can be among the students who have received recognition by being awarded scholarships,” Garcia said. He also praised the academic improvement at other government secondary schools.

He highlighted Couva East Secondary School, Rio Claro West Secondary School, San Fernando Central Secondary School (Mod Sec) and Signal Hill Secondary School in Tobago for “stepping up to the plate” so that their students could be among this year’s scholarship winners.

Garcia said so “excellent” were the grades, that the ministry “had some challenges in ensuring that the (scholarship) cap of 400 was maintained.” Topping the list are this year’s President’s Medal winners Saanjali Maharaj of St Augustine Girls’ High School and Veshala Goon of Lakshmi Girls Hindu College (LGHC); both schools are located in the St Augustine area.

LGHC has something else to be proud about. “This is the third consecutive occasion that a student from Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu College has received the President’s Medal,” Garcia said. LGHC is the first Hindu secondary school run by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), whose Secretary General Satnarayan Maharaj told Newsday, “I am a proud man today.”

He added that he was just as proud of Lakshmi last year and the year before. “I am proud of all Maha Sabha schools year round,” he added.

“I feel our education model should be (emulated) because we know how to motivate the children, rather than condemn them. Veshala (Goon) said she prays every day in addition to studying hard. That ought to be emulated. At the SDMS, we believe secular and religious education must go hand-in-hand; teach children to respect the supremacy of God,” Maharaj said.

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