The Guyana Society for the Blind (GSB) had recorded a 100 per cent pass rate at the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
Among the seven students who would have sat this year’s examination from the organisation, they all secured passes ranging from Grades Ones to Three.
Executive member of the organisation, Ganesh Singh gave a brief overview of their performance, noting that it has been exceptional.
“It was extremely good because we got 100 per cent pass. In total, they wrote 16 subjects and they passed all. We cater for persons with other disabilities as well because we know that there are limited opportunities out there relating to education,” Singh stated.
The top student was Shimona Sugrim from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), who secured five Grade Twos, followed by Dawn Benjamin with four Grade Twos and Shondy Thomas who acquired three Grade Twos and two Grade Threes.
Sugrim told INews, “When I started, I didn’t think I would’ve achieved this so I’m very happy about it. It’s definitely a great achievement for me.”
Most of the students indicated that they wish to give back to the blind community by teaching students with similar disabilities.
Meanwhile, one of the teachers responsible for preparing the students for the examination, Rosemary Ramitt, highlighted her experience throughout the programme and also explained that this achievement will enable the students to pursue a career in the future.
To the students, she said, “What you have done now will just be the stepping stone for what you want to do later.”
Despite this achievement, it was indicated that there are some limiting factors which can be challenging at times.
One of the main setbacks is the number of teachers and also the fact that students are coming to the intuition from other regions. At times, they would have to use social media to organise video chats so that persons can access the information which is being taught.
