March 5, 1996
(Education and Training)

Winners of awards for high school equivalency testing program

Chris R. Decker, Minister of Education and Training, is pleased to announce the winners of six provincial government cash awards to graduates of the high school equivalency GED testing program for 1995.

The GED High School Equivalency Diploma is awarded to adults on the basis of their scores on the GED tests signifying their achievement of general educational development equivalent to the level of high school graduation. The GED is an international program originating in the United States but modified for use in Canada. Almost 700,000 adults throughout the world take the tests each year. In Newfoundland, 502 adults took the tests in 1995, and 319, or 63.5 per cent, qualified for the High School Equivalency Diploma.

The provincial government cash awards, valued at $1,000 each, have been made to the six graduates who achieved the highest scores for the province on the GED Tests in 1995. The government hopes through these awards to encourage adults who left school without a high school diploma to take advantage of the GED program as one means of furthering their education as adults and expanding their career opportunities.

The GED award winners are:

     Adrienne A. Nicholas
     Grand Falls-Windsor

     Craig D. Holwell
     Paradise

     Patrick A. Walsh
     Goulds

     Heather F. Howson
     Clarenville

     John D. Doran
     St. John's

     Cheyenne J. Peddle
     Paradise

Contact: Carl Cooper, Director of Public Relations, (709) 729-0048, or Leonard Badcock, Provincial GED Administrator, (709) 729-2999.