A $500,000 subvention from the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs to the Bina Hill Institute for Learning has allowed it to add new courses to its programme.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release the sum, which is sent to the institute monthly, is also to assist with administration. Currently 26 students from the North and South Rupununi attend the Institute located at Annai Central, Region Nine.

They are enrolled in courses such as Wildlife Management, Forestry, Computer Science, Agriculture and other skills and leadership programmes.

Vincent Henry, Principal at the institute, said the courses were introduced to the institution last year through support from the government, the Inter-American Development Bank and other funding agencies.

He said the Rupununi communities are vastly improving and young people need to build their capacity in the relevant areas, thereby advancing with the communities’ development. 

The institute provides an opportunity for youth who did not experience secondary school education to further their education. “These students complete nursery and primary education and would have entered society without some basic skills… I can say that they are doing quite well and most of them have already been offered jobs,” Henry said.

The first batch of students will graduate on July 1 and will return to their communities with entrepreneurial skills that will enable them to earn a livelihood, GINA said.