Discovery Bauxite hails 70 years of investment in education

The Discovery Bauxite Partners company in St Ann has granted millions of dollars annually, to assist students from primary to tertiary level, over the past seven decades.

Acting Vice President and General Manager of Chris Cargill, labelled the achievement a significant contribution to nation-building.

Cargill said that the long history of assistance for education provided by Discovery Bauxite and its predecessor companies including Kaiser Bauxite, as well as other companies in the industry, has seen thousands of scholarships and bursaries awarded to students across the bauxite landscape since the opening of the industry in 1952.

He said that the benefits to Jamaica from these endowments include professional careers in medicine, education, agriculture, engineering, government, business entrepreneurship, industry and commerce, and professional management, among others.

“Education outreach for us has therefore been more than just a social obligation. It is an important part of nation building, and essential in the development of our human capital”, stated Cargill.

At the handover, he announced the continuation of the annual university scholarships as well as annual grants of $3 million to 70 primary school students who emerged as tops in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination.

The students are drawn from the 30 schools in the bauxite company’s operating area in the north western area of St Ann.

“We also continue to provide from our Educational Trust Fund, hundreds of education bursaries to children of our employees as well as to students entering tertiary institutions to assist with their first year expenses,” Cargill added.

Kent Skyers, chairman of the function and Discovery Bauxite’s community and public relations superintendent, said that the awards presentation has been a tradition since 1967 when Kaiser commenced operations in St Ann, and prior to those years going back to 1953 when Kaiser was based in St Elizabeth.

The Servite, Clydesdale, and Philadelphia primary schools were recognised by the company for consistent high performance in the PEP levels over many years.

Project Lead Transformation Officer in the Ministry of Education, Dr Venesse Morrison-Lowe, lauded the role played by the private sector,and commended Discovery Bauxite for its contribution over a broad area of society.

She noted that apart from its contribution to the area of academics, the company’s philanthropy has also impacted physical infrastructure, technical equipment, sports, playfield construction, water supplies, and extracurricular assistance in cultural and social development.

Meanwhile, the bauxite company also announced that it will be handing over

the Columbus Inn building in Discovery Bay, which was a former hotel and later the administrative offices of the company, to the Brown’s Town Community College (BTCC). The building which already houses a basic school and the technical centre for BTCC, also includes a community skills training centre built by the bauxite company in 2012 in partnership with HEART NTA.