Thirty students have received a share of $15 million towards their tertiary education under the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) Hoilett/Lambert Scholarship.
The funds were presented during a ceremony held at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston on Friday (Sept. 4).
Implemented under the JBI’s Bauxite Community Development Programme (BCDP), the scholarship targets beneficiaries from bauxite-producing parishes including Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Clarendon, St. Catherine and St. Ann.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, in his address, said that the scholarship is “an investment in our people because that is the real value of this industry.”
He noted that it provides critical assistance to rural students who have worked hard in their studies but are unable to afford tertiary education.
“You normally say to the children, work hard, do well, get a good education but so many of them… when they want to move forward to tertiary education, they have the major barrier of not being able to afford it. I’ve always said that if we’re truly going to build out the Jamaican dream, then we have to remove those barriers,” he stated.
Each beneficiary will receive $500,000 towards their fields of study, which include education, engineering, nursing, medicine, logistics, agriculture, food processing, and environmental science.
The scholarship also requires each student to complete 30 hours of community service, which Minister Green encouraged the recipients to carry out within their local communities.
He also urged them not to forget their home parishes after they complete their studies.
“Too many times we do find that once people move up the education chain, they forget the rural area that gave birth to them… and then wonder why nobody is living there anymore. Nobody can live there anymore if you don’t go back and help build it back,” he pointed out.
“So, we’re saying to our awardees, please, take these 30 hours of community service and … help to build your communities. Study like your community is truly counting on you, because they are,” he said.
General Manager at JBI, Andre Lindsay, highlighted the agency’s legacy of supporting education in bauxite-producing parishes.
He noted that to date, the JBI has devoted over $1.2 billion to infrastructure, health, agriculture, and educational programmes.
“This is done with one overarching goal in mind and that is to ensure that some of the earnings from the minerals are invested back into the communities, reinvested into the people and the people most affected by mining and the processing of alumina so that the lives of their families are improved,” Mr. Lindsay said.
Now in its second year, the scholarship programme has expanded to 30 beneficiaries, up from 14 at its launch, with plans to award another 30 scholars in 2027.
