– on learning that study is for a certificate, not a degree
Most of the students who were recently granted scholarships to study in Mexico yesterday refused to take up the offer after they learnt that at the end of the three-year programme they would receive certificates and not degrees as was advertised in the local newspapers.
Following a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Minister of Public Service Dr Jennifer Westford, 15 of the 18 students who were granted the scholarships opted to remain in Guyana and take up studies at the University of Guyana (UG). Because they were offered scholarships to UG instead the students were reluctant to speak to this newspaper on record as they feared this may jeopardise their opportunity to be granted the scholarships.
Many of the students expressed disappointment after the meeting and told Stabroek News that while they were grateful for the opportunity to take up studies in another country it would be a waste of time to leave their homes and study for three years and on graduation only receive the equivalent of a Government Technical Institute (GTI) certificate.
Efforts to contact Minister Westford yesterday proved to be futile as she was said to be in a meeting.
The minister’s meeting with the students was preceded by a meeting she held with Mexican Ambassador Fernando Sandoval.
A press release from Mexican Embassy, which invited the media to a press conference today to announce the granting of the 18 scholarships, said the 18 scholarships granted to Guyanese students were among 50 scholarships offered to Caricom countries. According to the release the students are being given the opportunity to study at Mexico’s National College of Professional Technical Education which comes under the country’s Ministry of Public Education. Half of the students were being offered studies in environmental conservation while the remainder would have studied in the area of food and beverages, hospitality in tourism and industrial electricity. It was stated that the students were expected to travel to Mexico in the coming days to participate in Spanish courses before the commencement of classes for the scholarship.
Misinterpreted
According to the students Stabroek News spoke to yesterday afternoon Minister Westford admitted to them that it was her ministry which caused the mix-up as it misinterpreted what was being offered by the Mexico Embassy,
One young woman said that the minister said the embassy indicated that they were offering a “bachelor’s certificate” in the various subject areas and her ministry took that to mean a bachelor’s degree. As a result when the advertisement was placed in the media it indicated that the scholarships were for three-year degree programmes in three disciplines.
“We thought it was a degree but now we know it is a certificate, it is better we stay right here and go to UG. Why go and study for three years just for a certificate?” one of the students asked yesterday.
The students only recently learnt that the scholarship was offering a certificate and not a degree when one of them living out of town decided to visit the embassy to sign the contract instead of returning to the city last Tuesday–the day when they all were to sign the contracts.
It was upon reading the contract that the student observed that it said certificate and not degree and on enquiring was told it was indeed a certificate. The student then refused to sign the contract and when they all met at the Public Service Ministry’s D’Urban Street location last Tuesday they all decided not to sign the contracts but instead asked that the studies be upgraded to degree programmes.
They were told yesterday by the minister that this could not be done.
It was pointed out also that while some of the students may have been willing to still take up the offer they later learnt that upon return they would have to serve the government for five years. Students said that upon return not only they would want to work for institutions paying the best salaries, but they would also definitely want to further their studies and may be unable to do so while working for the government. The students said the minister accepted that it was her ministry’s fault and told them the ministry understands if they no longer wanted to take up the offer.
However, some of the students were quite upset as some had quit their jobs and had incurred quite a lot of expense in the process of following up on the scholarship offer. Some had even purchased their suitcases.
“Is a good thing I didn’t leave me job because I know I didn’t getting it back,” one of the students said.
Meanwhile, two of the three students who decided to still take up the offer told Stabroek News that they did so because they feel it is still a good opportunity.
They said while they were disappointed to hear it was not a degree programme they felt it was still worth it going off to Mexico to study.
One of the students, who said she is very good in Spanish, said it is always a plus to know second language and to be taught this in the country the language is being spoken it could only be an asset.
“I still feel it is a good opportunity and when I come back I know my certificate would not be the same like the one at GTI,” the student said.
The other students said they would now concentrate on applying to UG in the disciplines that were being offered under the scholarship and they would then have to contact the ministry with the information.
