Students respond to Golding's plan to provide loans for school leavers.

In light of the Government's decision to make loans available to students leaving school this year, The Gleaner yesterday spoke with fifth and sixth-formers in western Jamaica about the initiative.

Javayne Robinson, 17, Irwin High School:

I come from a family which is financially challenged and I am intent on working hard to ensure that I can end that cycle. My interest is in agriculture, so if I were to benefit from this programme, I would get involved in planting cash crops and then move into poultry production. I find agriculture very fascinating and beneficial to the country, so I would love the opportunity to get into that sector.

Kyle-Andrew Mason, 17, Anchovy High School:

I would really love to take advantage of such a programme because I love to repair computers and so I would open a computer-servicing store that deals with repairs, programming and teaching computer servicing. I plan on going to the Caribbean Institute of Technology to further my skills so that I can open my own business in the future.

Alando Allen, 16, Anchovy High School:

To have such an opportunity to do my own small business would be a great blessing because my skill area at school is electrical installation but I love servicing computers. My school and community have given me an opportunity to repair their computers, so I believe that with that experience, I would be competent to run my own computer repair shop. My hobby is to experiment with the computer at home, so I can learn to master this craft. I plan on going to HEART Trust to study and further my skills in computer repairs.

Judyanna Lawes, 17, Irwin High School:

For the Government to want to give youths this opportunity, this would be really helpful because I would open a mini-pasty restaurant. At school, I do food preparation and I love to cook and prepare delicious meals. I would really like to benefit from this programme because I intend to go to HEART Trust after high school to learn more about pastry preparation.

Tashauna Brown, 19, Rusea's High School:

I have a passion for agriculture, especially for poultry and cash crop production. I know that youths tend to shy away from that profession but I would love to start my small business in poultry and cash crop production so that I could employ and educate youths on the viability of this sector.

Roydel Moncrieffe, 18, Rusea's High School:

I live in Hanover where a lot of young persons do not have access to the Internet but during the exam period a lot of students need to use computers and the Internet. So if I am allowed to benefit from this programme, I would open an Internet café in the area.