Georgetown: Three hundred and seventy-seven newly trained teachers will be entering the school system in the new term.
The Cyril Potter College of Education held its graduation ceremony on Friday with the new teachers drawn from its Turkeyen campus in Region 4, Rose Hall campus in Region 6, and the new Anna Regina campus in Region 2.
President David Granger, delivered the feature address and pledged his government’s unwavering commitment to building an educated nation.
“Teachers are the sinews of the country’s education system. Teachers hold the key to realising a world-class education system in which every child will have an opportunity to be educated at four levels, nursery, primary, secondary and university at state expense,” the president remarked.
President Granger vowed that education would be given the highest priority from January 1, 2020, to mark the launch of the decade of development. He noted that the work had already started.
“Teacher training has been improved with the establishment of our training centres in Anna Regina, Bartica, Paramakatoi, Moraikobai, these centres will help to boost teacher training particularly in the hinterland and remote rural areas,” He added.
Education Minister, Dr. Nicolette Henry, congratulated the graduants and urged that they become agents of change.
“I have to be honest with you graduating class of 2019 that notwithstanding your certificates, your journey to success would be arduous and involve daily labour, and many selfless acts, the choices you have made and those that you will make will add up to your lasting legacy. And so we can never be satisfied with our latest achievements, many of you will go on to read for other degrees and enhance your skill sets in order to become all that you were created to be. You have to get up every morning and give of your best in your respective fields,” Dr. Henry told the graduating teachers.
The minster told the teachers that whether they were trained to be in nursery, primary or secondary classrooms, they must give of their best.
“I ask that you give of your best and give back and contribute to the life of this country. You will have setbacks, and you may have failures but you cannot allow that to define who you are, nor what you become.”
Dr. Henry continued: “I can share with you my own personal experience. I have not always succeeded, I have not always gotten it right, but I have always remained resolute and committed to getting better. I learn every day and I continue to benefit from mentorship, nurturing, guidance, and even criticism – so I can continue to grow, deliver and discharge my responsibilities in my current portfolio as minister of education.”
Minister Henry said having the right skills can make coping with changes at work and even in one’s personal environment easier.
“Those of you graduating today, let me say one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself right here, right now, at this important moment in your life, is to decide without apology, to commit to the journey and not the outcome. The course of the journey will certainly impact both your output and your outcome,” the minister said.
She told the graduating class that productivity and growth should be their watchwords and producing more with less should be a concept that they should be familiar with.
Minister Henry also told the graduands that they are graduating at an interesting time, a time when many in education believe that soft skills development is just as or even more important than an academic degree.
In fact one of the major challenges facing the global education community, she said, is how to address simultaneously, the skills inequality and skills uncertainty.
“This paradox acknowledges that the current ways in which students are prepared reinforce the formal pedagogical structures that can prevent students from developing the breath of skills needed for 21st century life and therefore do not prepare them adequately for the skills uncertainty,” Minister Henry noted.
She said young people need more than traditional academic skills, noting that soft skills such as collaboration, problem-solving and creativity are critical in life and in the world of work.
You must be logged in to post a comment.