ST. GEORGE, GRENADA, AUG. 30, 2017, (GIS): – The Government of Grenada, in partnership with The People’s Republic of China; the Republics of Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago and the St. George’s University, have presented Grenadian students with 77 undergraduate and graduate scholarship awards, valued at 20.4 million dollars.

“I just want to say to people out there, who have hope within themselves to achieve something, don’t ever give up. Work hard and you will achieve,” Genis Thorne, a soon-to-be PhD student, from Paradise, St. Andrew, commented following the ceremony. She is scheduled to begin studies at Sun Yat –Sen, China, for a period of 3 years.

The scholarship presentations were made during a ceremony on August 10, at the Grenada Boys Secondary School, in St. George, hosted by the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development & The Environment.

Speaking to the recipients, Colin Dowe, Assistant Dean of Enrolment & Planning, SGU, advised students to “Think beyond the traditional and embrace this opportunity to be an agent of transformational change, for your families and our country.”

Scholarships were awarded in several areas, with 30 undergraduate scholarships being awarded for SGU; 16 undergraduate, 9 masters and one doctoral studies award for study in the People’s Republic of China; 11 to the Republic of Cuba (10 undergraduate and one post graduate award) and 10 to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (9 undergraduate and one masters scholarship).

His Excellency, Dr. Zhao Yongchen, Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, said, “I would like to say congratulations to all the awardees of the Chinese scholarships and I do believe you will have a wonderful experience while studying in China.”

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development and the Environment congratulated the awardees and thanked the National Training Awards Selection Committee for their commitment to the scholarship selection process and the scholarship providers for their generous contributions.

“You have not only provided scholarships, you also continue to assist our government to provide higher education and opportunities to so many young Grenadians, who otherwise would not have a chance at entering the doors of a university,” Joseph said.

Her Excellency, Maria Caridad Balaguer, Ambassador, the Republic of Cuba, pledged continued support to Grenada.

“We will continue to honor our pledge to cooperate and share our modest achievements with our sister nations in the Caribbean,” Her Exellency said.

Ambassador Balaguer noted that since the 1980s more than 300 students have graduated from universities in Cuba in several study areas, many of whom have returned to work in Grenada. Currently 47 are studying in Cuba. She assured the students that they will be well received.

Senator of State in the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development and the Environment, Simon Stiell, outlined the many scholarships already awarded for 2017, prior to the most recent awards.

“To date, there have been a total of 144 scholarships, at an approximate value of $14 million dollars – that’s for 2017 – and these include economic bursaries, which constitute 80 percent tuition payable to University of the West Indies, and these awards are estimated at a value of a million dollars. These scholarships, along with the islands scholarships, valued at approximately 1.2 million dollars are solely funded by the Government of Grenada,” Stiell said.

Stiell affirmed Government of Grenada’s continued commitment to human resource development, through education.