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August 14, 2003
Minister of Education, Hon. Maxine Henry-Wilson has urged young Jamaicans to “get the best education there is”, so they can be world-class citizens. She was speaking at the tenth annual Blue Cross of Jamaica Scholarship Awards Ceremony, held earlier today (14/8/03) at the Ministry’s Caenwood Centre in Kingston, where 19 GSAT scholars received their $10,000 cheques.
During her keynote address, the Minister also lauded Blue Cross of Jamaica for focusing on improving the quality of education, as part of their role as a corporate citizen.
Blue Cross has spent in excess of J$5M since 1994 to fund five-year scholarships for academic excellence. The annual awards are given every year to children of Blue Cross subscribers and employees. Students have to maintain an average of 75% to maintain the scholarships.
President and CEO of Blue Cross of Jamaica, Mr. Richard Powell, in his address, said the programme is “dedicated especially to facilitating the positive development of Jamaican youth” as the organization fulfils its social responsibility.
Mr. Powell also advised the awardees that staying healthy would be a vital ingredient in maintaining academic excellence. “Also very important, you will have to guard against destructive habits like drug abuse, which can sometimes be made to seem exciting and cool – but which can only lead to trouble and sorrow”, he cautioned.
He challenged the 19 awardees to continue on the educational path, as “education will never end, because to survive in this fast changing world, learning has to be a life-long pursuit”.
The scholarships, which are valued at $10,000 annually over a five year period, are awarded to GSAT scholars in the following categories:
- Children of subscribers on the Government Employees’ Administrative Services Only (GEASO) Health Scheme;
- Children of private sector employees who are enrolled on the Blue Cross group health plan and;
- Children of Blue Cross employees.
The scholarships are designed to enable students to complete courses leading to the CXC and GCE ‘O’ Level Examinations.
