Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer

DISCOVERY BAY, St Ann:

NORANDA JAMAICA Bauxite Partners recently held its Jamaica 50 Scholarship Awards presentation ceremony at King's House in commemoration of Jamaica's 50th anniversary of Independence.

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen presented the 10 scholarships to the students who are from the bauxite company's operating areas in St Ann and who are all attending tertiary institutions.

The scholarships are for between two and four years and see students attending the University of Technology (UTech) and the University of the West Indies (UWI). Students receive $250,000 annually, and those attending the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), Shortwood Teachers' College, and Brown's Town Community College, $150,000 per year.

The scholarships are in addition to Noranda's annual scholarships and bursaries for secondary and tertiary students, which run in millions of dollars annually.

In presenting the awards, Sir Patrick called for more private-public-sector partnerships "similar to the Noranda model of enriching communities through education".

He reminded the audience that Noranda also built and operates two adult skills-training centres in partnership with HEART Trust/NTA and conducts a summer student-work programme that accommodates over 80 students each year at the company's plant and mining facilities.

GOOD CORPORATE CITIZEN

He said Noranda has been operating as a good corporate citizen in the field of education as well as in other areas of social responsibility.

Noranda Jamaica's president, Pansy Johnson, said that the governor general has always demonstrated a keen interest in Noranda's education programmes, and that the Noranda Jamaica 50 scholarships were announced in his presence when he visited the company on June 21 this year during his Jamaica 50 tour.

Johnson congratulated the awardees, describing them as "the best of the best as they were selected from over 150 applicants".

Scholarships were presented to UWI students Daniella Webby, Dominyck Walford, and Shane Johnson; UTech students Tarick Edwards, Jameel Trowers, and Easton Grant; CASE students Raniel Simms and Alverdo Green; Orane Gordon from the Brown's Town Community College; and Christina Hudson of Shortwood Teachers' College.

rural@gleaneerjm.com