By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

STUDENTS from over a dozen schools throughout the Bahamas, representing the “leadership” of the school-based co-operative movement in the country, have been receiving additional advice on money management and leadership skills as part of the annual School Co-operative Conference 2014.

At the College of the Bahamas’ library on Friday, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the Department of Co-operative Development, along with teachers from the various schools, gathered as the students were instructed on how to be “members of a dynamic and striving movement upon graduating high school”.

“This is our 40th year, and our ministry is focused on the youth involvement in all things that flow from our ministry,” said MOA permanent secretary Rena Glinton.

“We believe that we start young people at the junior and senior high school level, learning how to save, learning how to plan for business so that once they become graduates they’ll be able to either be leaders in their jobs or be able to create jobs for others by starting their own businesses.”

During the event, winners were also announced for the Business Plan Competition, in which students had to come up with a “viable” business idea that can be implemented in their own schools.

Jordan Prince William High school claimed first place, collecting $1,500, but the surprise was T A Thompson Junior High school, led by 13-year-old school president Calvin Burrows, beating many other high schools for second place and the $750 prize. Aquinas College came third, winning $400,

“I feel great that we came second against all the senior schools in the Bahamas,” said a confident Calvin. “I think we should plan out our business more professionally so that we can have a winning speech. We planned how we’re going to start up a co-operative because our school doesn’t have a functional one at this time. The students were interested; it should be good how I’m planning everything out.”

Jade Saunders, of Jordan Prince William’s winning team, paid tribute to the runners-up. “T A Thompson gave us a really good and difficult task of going against them,” she said. “They had a really good plan, but it was something we did that caused us to win.”

According to Ms Glinton, the current overall membership of co-operatives in the Bahamas is 40,000, and youth co-operatives have a membership of just under 400,000, with assets of $24,000.

Additionally, she said the number of school co-operatives had increased from eight to 11, making good on Agriculture Minister’s Alfred Gray’s previous call for students to “go into the highways and byways to compel fellow students to become members” of the co-operative league.

“We in the Ministry of Agriculture believe that co-operatives are clearly a significant source of employment creation,” she said. “The co-operative models for enterprises that contribute to youth employment not only by providing salaried employment, but by facilitating job creation through self employment.”

Safyha Bryan, a Central Eleuthera High school student, said co-operatives are things all young people should get into because it will better prepare them for the future.

“We all need to fend for ourselves in some point in time and being in a business is truly the best way to do it,” she said. “My school doesn’t have a co-operative at this point in time; it’s going to be something interesting to go back and try to initiate and get started.”

According to Ms Glinton, the co-operative model lends itself to both New Providence and the Family Islands for “persons of all academics and skill levels, including recent graduates who have limited prospects of finding jobs.” She said ministry officials can hopefully mentor and encourage business ideas resulting in broad ownership and employment for the participating students.