Twenty-one-year-old Rahul Ramdyal and Youdesh Persaud of Supenaam, Region Two, are the overall top graduating students of the Essequibo Technical Institute (ETI) in Region Two. Ramdyal, the youngest of his siblings, did a Diploma in Computer Science during the academic year 2019-2021 at the institute.
The youth said he was overjoyed to be the valedictorian for the Institute’s 17th graduation ceremony, which was held on Tuesday.
In his speech at the ceremony, Ramdyal noted that despite all the negative challenges he remained focused and was victorious in the end. He encouraged those who are thinking of pursuing their tertiary education at the institute to get on board.
Youdesh Persaud emerged as the Valedictorian for the Technical Department. He too was very surprised by his achievements and thanked his lecturers and parents for their support. Both students received medals, trophies and prizes. Persaud related that the journey was a tedious one but he was determined to succeed.
The other outstanding students for 2021 were Jusel Duggan, Alex Smith, Laiza Percy, Myra Thomas, Shalini Ramotar, Fayad Nankishore, Areena Bridjodhan, Keyianna Trotman, Dickey Henry, Sherwin Alli, Devindra Bhagwandin, Bishawan Persaud, Devon Nathan, Ravi Persaud, and Stephon Daniels.
The courses offered included Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Level 1, General Office Administration, Furniture Making Level 1, Data Operations Level 1, Diploma in Computer Science, Internal Combustion Engines, Welding, Agriculture Machinery, Metal Machining and Mechanical Fitting, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical engineering.
According to the Principal of the Technical Institute, Stacy Osborne, 72 students graduated at the 17th graduation class of 2020-2021. During her report she highlighted that in spite of the pandemic, ETI has managed to successfully host its graduation.
The graduation was hosted under the theme, “ETI moving to new levels”.
“This year under the review is the year for strong mobility and strengthening of process, since these years are hinged with [the] pandemic, the road to achieving the results was not smooth. All educational facilities were closed from March 2019, during which time online classes were held, however the internet was poor,” Osborne related.
The principal highlighted that due to the lack of internet connectivity, many of the students dropped out during the pandemic. She disclosed that there was an initial enrollment of 279 registered students but they had to return home. When the classes resumed, only 51 students returned for class room training – just 18% of the total registered students.
However, Osborne assured that ETI will continue to work with the Ministry of Education as well as the Regional Administration to create a learning environment for technical and vocational skill training.
Chairman of the Board of Governors, Todar Chowbay, encouraged the graduating class to remain focussed and ensure that they used their skills to become better individuals in society.
Delivering the charge to the students was Certified Master Trainer, power system engineer, and licensed electrical contractor, Hugh Griffith. He told the students that they were graduating at a time when Guyana is booming as a country and skilled workers are needed. He advised them to stay abreast of current affairs and to engage in networking so as to better sell their skills.
Representing the Regional Executive Officer Susana Saywack was Portia Jacobs, who also offered her congratulations.
