CHEETAH creates waves in education with PEP scholarship
What if education could be made even more accessible to children? What if they could be offered innovative, effective, culture-sensitive tools in learning? What if learning could be right at their fingertips?
These are some of the thoughts that led CHEETAH™ (Connect to Higher Education, Electronic tools, App and Help) to stop imagining and spend time doing. After much hard work, creativity and partnership, CHEETAH™, known for its unique stamp on the education system, launched its PEP Challenge Scholarship initiative in August 2020.
The scholarship, which was designed to test and challenge the students’ Primary Exit Profile (PEP) readiness, saw over 700 students registered islandwide. With each student vying for the prize of $40,000 in cash, books, tablets, toys and the acclaim of semi-finalists in their region, the contestants logged into their accounts and sat their virtual ability test, on Monday, September 21. Days later, seven semi-finalists – Krystina Grant, Esther Omoregie, Najwa Russel, Jadian Rose, Rhavianna Austin, Veerendra Biragie and Damijae McCalla— came up victorious and received their winning call.
But that was not the end of the road.
Each semi-finalist had to show up and push their limits as they took on the final mathematics exam. While the contestants were confident in their abilities, they shared that the test was challenging.
“The first test was a bit easy but I still went through the questions thoroughly and did my best,” shared Grant, who attends the Ewarton Primary School and represented Region 6 in the finals.
She went on to share that while she did not win, she is glad she challenged herself and was happy with her results. “I was so excited to get my prizes from CHEETAH. Alongside a toy and the cash prize, I got a CHEETAH 8” phablet (tablet and phone) and workbooks that will really be helpful in doing school from home.”
Admitting that the journey was a bit bumpy, Paulette Trowers, director and founder of CHEETAH™, expressed that the initiative was no easy feat but with the help of the Ministry of Education, Youth & Information, the Kingston cohort of the I believe Initiative and SmartTerm Limited, she was able to persevere full speed ahead.
“It sounds cliche to say but learning may be boring for some students. We want to entertain, educate and inspire our youngsters. Children are very imaginative and that is why I created the CHEETAH™ brand to help children connect to the content and give back to the Jamaican educational system that has significantly molded my future. This goal birthed the PEP scholarship,” Trowers told the Jamaica Observer.
Trowers also shared that they have always given out scholarships in honour of her parents, The Tasrell and Josephine Trowers Foundation, but this year was the first time doing it publicly.
She went on, “I was initially concerned about the viability of the students taking the tests due to the COVID-19 complications but with the help of SmartTerm, the entire competition was offered online and I was convinced that the scholarship would assist students with upcoming school expenses”.
To her delight, of the 700 who registered, 300 students logged on to sit the first test. “It was a smooth process and as we got to the final exam, I felt the students’ interest and enthusiasm and was glad I saw it through”.
On Monday, September 28, Veerendra Biragie of Hosanna Preparatory School came out on top and took the title of 2020 PEP CHEETAH Scholarship Champion.
“This meant a lot to my family and I. I have always challenged myself in school and was eager to test my abilities with CHEETAH’s PEP Challenge. I worked hard and was elated that it paid off when I won the final prize. This scholarship will certainly help my parents with my school expenses,” Biragie expressed.
In endorsing this initiative, Acting Chief Education Officer Dr Kasan Troupe stated that “the Ministry of Education, Youth & Information is grateful for this support and proud of CHEETAH™’s contribution in creating social change for our students.”
This will not be the last of CHEETAH™’s initiatives. Alongside their workbooks that are being implemented in schools, CHEETAH™ has created a bundled phablet package at a discount, to aid in the challenges parents are now facing with virtual schooling. Their phablet package includes, 4G LTE with sim card, Android 9.0 OS, Bluetooth detachable keyboard with kickstand and much more.
CHEETAH aims to strengthen Jamaica’s education system while allowing children the freedom to use their imagination in learning.