THIS year is one of celebration and pride for the teachers, administrators and students of Lakshmi Girls' Hindu College.
The college is celebrating its golden jubilee - 60th anniversary and it also celebrated principal Sonia Mahase-Persad, who was awarded the Medal of Merit (Gold) at the Republic Day National Awards, for education, community service, and the upliftment of women.
A release from the college on October 8 said Mahase-Persad has been at the helm of the school's administration since 2010.
During that time the college had grown significantly in size, curricular and extra-curricular programmes and played a vital role in nation-building through the high calibre of its graduates, the release said.
It said Mahase-Persad, as principal, exemplifies visionary leadership and the ability to inspire her staff, students, and parents to take risks with the changes in societal demands and expectations.
She has worked passionately for more than 38 years in the education system, at primary level for ten years; 28 years at the secondary level - starting in 1995 at Lakshmi Girls' Hindu College; and five years at tertiary level, as a part-time lecturer at Cipriani Labour College.
Under her leadership, the college has risen to new heights, the release said.
Between 2010 and 2023, the school won approximately 270 national scholarships. From 2015-2019, the school attained five consecutive President's Gold Medals, with another President's Medal in 2021.
The school has received the Caribbean Examination Council Regional Award in Business Studies on several occasions as well as in the modern languages and humanities (history) at CAPE. Lakshmi Girls' Hindu College is the leading Caribbean secondary school for business studies and tourism, the release said.
Mahase-Persad's embracing of technology from 2010 enabled her school to qualify for the Samsung Smart School project (2014) and equipping a smart classroom for use by staff and students.
Five years before covid, she infused ICT in educational pedagogy through e-testing, and using hybrid teaching and learning.
Hers is one of a few secondary schools offering digital media in addition to computer science at CAPE. This extended to including robotics, web design and ICT clubs at the school.
The school's wide-ranging curriculum has resulted in a significant number of scholarships across all subject groupings, regional awards in business studies, foreign languages, humanities, history and geography, which speak to the diverse curriculum and the adaptability and motivation of her staff to meet the needs of 21st century learners.
Mahase-Persad and her staff, the release said, expanded the CAPE programme to include subjects such as tourism, entrepreneurship, digital media, food and nutrition and computer science.
She has transformed the learning environment to iPad, laptops and notebooks and reinvented teaching with technologically driven, child-centred approaches, such as the "flipped classroom" concept, STEM (science, technology, engineering and
