Sunday, June 28, 2015
SCOTIA Foundation will this year increase the number of Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) scholarships it awards, from 15 to 22.
The increase will see an additional 10 scholarships going to inner-city schools. This brings the total number of inner-city beneficiaries to 20 out of the 22 to be issued. The scholarships, dubbed the 'Shining Star Awards', are valued at $225,000 over five years to cover high school tuition and books for the recipients.
The foundation said the increase was as a result of a restructuring of its scholarship award system as it recognises the needs of the country.
"We removed the category of County Scholarships and increased the number of Scotia Foundation Shining Star awards, as increasing the number of awardees from the inner city significantly increases the opportunity for children from lower-income homes to access quality education with adequate financial support," public and corporate communications manager Hope McMillan told the Jamaica Observer.
"There are other scholarships awarded by the government which are selected prior to recipients of scholarships from the private sector. Hence, the Foundation could not guarantee that its scholars would be the top in the county. It was best to choose another area of need and hence, we decided to award 10 additional scholarships to students from inner-city schools where the need was greatest," she said.
The Shining Star award is awarded to the top students in the chosen schools across the island, according to Ministry of Education regions. Region three, comprising Trelawny and St Ann, will see the biggest scholarship haul this year, as there are six recipients in that region. Region six (Clarendon and St Catherine) has four recipients, while Regions one, two, and four, which comprise Kingston & St Andrew, St Thomas, Portland, St Mary, Hanover, St James and Westmoreland, will receive three scholarships each and Region five which comprises Manchester and St Elizabeth will receive one scholarship. more
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