Over 80 people attended the graduation of the first students to complete the Advanced Education Entry Certificate course at the Derby Civic Centre on Sunday, August 12.

The Director of Mount Lawley College, in presenting the awards to the successful students, expressed the college’s delight in being able to conduct the ceremony in the Kimberleys and that the college was hopeful that it could continue to provide a service to people in remote areas of the state.

The first five graduates – Agnes Albert, Verna Lockyer, Rosita Lovell, Christopher Bin Kali and Selina King, had completed the course in minimum time, which was a very commendable feat, considering the course only commenced in 1978 and the program was entirely by correspondence.

All the first five graduates had completed the course and been granted their award with credit. This entitled them to unconditional entrance into teacher training at Mount Lawley College.

Speakers at the ceremony included Mr Steven Albert, Chairman of the National Aboriginal Education Committee, Mr Jim Biendurry of the National Aboriginal Committee and Mrs Ester Bevan of the National Aboriginal Education Committee.

Mr Albert, while congratulating the graduates, stated that this was only the first step and he hoped it would not be very long before these students would graduate as qualified teachers and return to work in their own communities.

The first graduates had done a magnificent job, according to Mr Biendurry, and shown all other people what they could do by studying and hard work. He wished all other students in the course every success with their studies and hoped to see many more graduates from the course in the near future.