Aspiring Engineers top 2020 CSEC Examinations

Photo: (L-R) Bhedesh Persaud, Duvina Seurattan, Swasti Saytoo

The three top students of the 2020 Caribbean Secondary School Education Certificate (CSEC) Examinations are all aspiring to be Engineers of some kind as they continue their studies.

Copping first place is Bhedesh Persaud of Queen’s College with (22) Grade Ones and (1) Grade Two. The 17-year-old told BIG Smith News Watch that he is not totally surprised with his results since he “put in the work” to do well.

However, he said “I am grateful and happy,” as he extended gratitude to his teachers, parents and others who helped him along the way. Persaud is currently doing his Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) studies at Queen’s College after which he is looking to continue his studies in the Science and/or Engineering fields.

Second place was copped by Duvina Seurattan of the Anna Regina Secondary School in Region 2. She attained (19) Grade Ones and (2) Grade Twos.

The 17-year-old noted that while she expected her results, she was still shocked to hear her name during the virtual announcement.

Seurattan told the BIG Smith News Watch News that she will be pursuing studies in Chemical Engineering since she loves Chemistry. “I kinda did expect it because I was doing well for as long as I remember. I was in shock,” she noted.

Seurattan was followed by Swasti Saytoo, also of the Anna Regina Secondary School who copped (18) Grade Ones and (3) Grade Twos.

The prospective Civil Engineer is hopeful of landing a job in Guyana’s expanding Oil and Gas industry.

She pointed out that the level of excitement may have diminished due to the almost one-year wait for the results from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) but she nevertheless is pleased with her achievement.

Following widespread protests over the initial results of the 2020 examinations, the regional body set out to do a review for persons who requested same. It was disclosed that about 6,251 subject entries from the 2020 exam were affected while 1,258 subject entries from 500 candidates were submitted to CXC for review.

After the review, Saytoo’s Grade Ones moved from 17 to 18 after her results for Economics were upped to a Grade One.

Nevertheless, the teen who also copped second place in Region Two when she wrote the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), expressed gratitude to her mother, teachers and her grandparents who assisted her during her studies.