00:00Within 24 hours of announcing recipients of its Fullerton Long Afro-Caribbean Scholarship,
00:07the University of the West Indies St. Augustine campus amended the name of the award, citing
00:13the need to better reflect the pluralistic society in which it operates.
00:18The original release sparked public debate on social media and in the press with questions
00:23raised about how a scholarship described as Afro-Caribbean was awarded to students of
00:29Indian descent.
00:31One reader asks, Uwe named the recipients for the Fullerton Long Afro-Caribbean Scholarship
00:37and the recipients are of Indian descent.
00:40Another asked, isn't it an Afro-scholarship meaning for people of African descent?
00:46Why is it given to Indians?
00:49National Education Minister Dr. Nian Gadsby-Dolley weighed in, calling on Tertiary Education
00:54Minister Dr. Prakash Pasad to provide clarification.
00:59She said while the recipients are to be congratulated on their achievement, the announcement caused
01:04a level of public consternation, adding that based on information posted by Uwe, legitimate
01:10questions were being asked about the selection process.
01:15Until approximately eight hours after posting the initial announcement, the university issued
01:20a clarification and renamed the award, removing the word Afro.
01:26Uwe says, quote, the Fullerton Long Caribbean Scholarship is not restricted to students of
01:30any particular ethnicity at the St. Augustine campus.
01:34It is a competitive award based on academic excellence and co-curricular involvement among
01:40students pursuing actuarial studies in the Caribbean at the Uwe, and has previously been awarded
01:47to individuals of various ethnic backgrounds.
01:51The university explained that the scholarship was founded and is part financed by Norbert Fullerton
01:56and Andrew Long, both senior actuaries in the United Kingdom and ambassadors of the IFOA Foundation, who are of Caribbean
02:06heritage and wish to support the development of the actuarial profession in the region.
02:12Uwe added, quote, although this is how the scholarship was described by the international donors, it is not indicative of how the award is administered at the St. Augustine campus.
02:23We regret that we did not take the opportunity to modify the name to better reflect the pluralistic
02:30society in which we operate, or to ensure this distinction was reflected in our announcement,
02:36end quote.
02:37Now, in its fifth year, the scholarship awards each recipient £3,000, along with access to mentorship,
02:45career development opportunities, and professional networking.
02:49Urvishita Wari Rupanarang, TV6 News.
02:53To be continued...
02:54...
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