St John’s Antigua, Sept. 2, 2014: Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Arvel Grant has congratulated the students from the Guyana Society for the Blind who set a record with 82.4 percent pass rate in subjects from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).
“One year ago during a visit to Guyana I had the privilege of visiting with a very enthusiastic group of students with visual impairment; as they attended classes, preparing to sit the CXC exams.
They were all very enthusiastic about their future and the opportunity to further their education I am extremely pleased to see that a year later all the students did well in the examinations and three did exceptionally well,” Grant recalled.
Rosemarie Ramitt, 18, sat five subjects and secured grade ones in each subject; Odessa Blair, 36, secured five grade twos and Vishal Mohabir, secured three grade ones, one grade two and one grade four.
The 18-month programme to prepare them to sit the CSEC exams was funded by the Education Ministry and supported by several private sector entities. The students sat a maximum of five-subjects, which included English, Social Studies, Principle of Business, Office Administration and Human and Social Biology.
The other seven students included Leroy Phillip, Diane Singh, Anthony Robinson, Douglas Tika, Roy Stewart and Muesa Haynes and Laurel Lewis, who is physically impaired.
The CEO of the Caribbean Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired noted that “The students were engaged by the Guyana Society for the Blind, following an undertaking to educate persons who were visually impaired by providing equal opportunities through computer literacy in 2012 . This type of programme gives real meaning to the value of the Education For All Initiative being advanced around the World.”
Under Guyana’s One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme, the students were taught how to use the computer and CXC officials sent the exams electronically to Guyana along with the appropriate software to facilitate them sitting the exams.
Coordinator of the project, Ganesh Singh, who is also visually impaired, acknowledged challenges in preparing for the exams as some of the students came on board with primary level education, having dropped out of school because of their disability.
“Through our collaborations, we were able to successfully get past these challenges – I am on cloud 10,” he said.
Contact:
Arvel Grant, ( C.SW, B.Sc-SW (Hons) DPA, MPH)
Chief Executive Officer,
CCB-Eye Care Caribbean
PURPOSE
“Preventing blindness and visual impairment; while restoring sight and creating opportunities for persons whose sight cannot be restored”.
Lower All Saints Road - P.O. Box 1517 - Antigua, West Indies
Tel: 1-(268)-462-4111/462-6369/562-2216
Fax: (268)-462-6371