The second cohort of the Marcus Garvey Public Sector Graduate Scholarship Programme was awarded fully funded scholarships to leading universities locally and internationally during a ceremony at King’s House recently.

The awardees, who are from various ministries, departments and agencies within the public sector, were chosen by a selection committee chaired by Sir Patrick Allen, governor general of Jamaica.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service Nigel Clarke implored the scholarship awardees to aim for excellence as they seek to further their education and serve their country.

“It is fitting to name the scholarship after [Marcus Mosiah Garvey] because we don’t want you to limit yourself in any way. As recipients of the Marcus Garvey Public Sector Graduate Scholarship you are not limited to what you can achieve, and don’t limit yourself to what you believe your country can achieve, despite our challenges,” Minister Clarke said.

He added: “It’s useful for leaders in our public service to have exposure to the common nature of problems that developing countries face and how these problems are addressed or solved in other contexts and other situations. And we hope by having a cohort size that’s not one or two each year… after a few years we’ll have a critical mass of young leaders in the public service who have this broad exposure and experience that Jamaica so desperately needs.”

Keynote speaker at the event, managing director, HEART/NSTA Trust, Dr Taneisha Ingleton charged the awardees to change the narrative by making full use of the opportunity presented by the Government.

“When we are in our workplaces, are we assuming the kind of posture and speaking the kind of language that the Right Excellent would want to hear? So I am asking you as you go forward, astonish the world, astonish the public service, astonish yourselves and make the public service a place in which the Right Excellent Marcus Garvey would be proud and even happier to serve,” she added.

The awards ceremony coincided with the 135th anniversary of the birth of Garvey.

During the proceedings, Dr Julius Garvey, son of the national hero, extended congratulations to all the scholarship recipients and said he hopes the cohort will increase next year.

Awardees: Shanique Graham, Elvis Bennett, Theresa McDaniel, Daniella Uter, Simone Murray, Kensley Shay, Gabriel McLeod, Aneisha Lancaster, Annastacia Rose, Natalie Campbell Forbes, Mark Davis, Kenvoy Groves, Latoya Richards Franklin, and Dr Astrid Batchelor.

The Marcus Garvey Technical Secretariat (MGTS), Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, is the administrative arm of the Marcus Garvey Public Sector Graduate Scholarship Programme. The secretariat coordinates the activities of the scholarship inclusive of the application processing, scholarship awards, monitoring and evaluation, and student welfare.

The scholarship recipients can pursue postgraduate studies from competitive, appropriately accredited universities in Jamaica, North America and Europe and must be Jamaican nationals/citizens under 45 years old at the time of application — whether permanently appointed, temporary or on contract — with at least two years of continuous service.