The scholarship is administered by the Department of Education and funded by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). The $1,000 scholarship is awarded annually to a Prince Edward Island resident who possesses the G.E.D. high school equivalency credential and is accepted into a post-secondary program in science, technology, engineering, trades or related fields of study.

The GED is an internationally recognized program which enables people to receive their grade 12 equivalency by passing a series of five tests in reading, writing, math, science and social studies. “The G.E.D. program is one of the single most important adult learning opportunities available to Islanders,” said Minister Dover. “We are pleased to administer this scholarship which encourages and assists Islanders who have obtained their G.E.D. and are pursuing their learning further at the post-secondary level.”

Colin Farrell, a resident of Charlottetown, has been home-schooled by his mother. He has been accepted to the pre-pharmacy program at St. Petersburg College in Florida this fall. After completing this two-year program he plans to obtain his Doctorate of Pharmacy at the University of Florida.

Any resident of PEI who is 18 years or older can take the G.E.D. exams for a nominal fee of $20. The tests take about seven hours to write. People may choose to write them over a two-day period or by writing one exam at a time over a longer period. During the past five years, 1,653 Islanders received their grade 12 equivalency by passing their GED exams.

For information on the GED program, contact Luann MacAusland at the Department of Education, (902)368-5988 or lnmacausland@edu.pe.ca.