'If you don't have an education, yuh corner dark'

MAY PEN, Clarendon:

Ronald Thwaites, minister of education has told Foga Road High students that, "if you don't have a good education, yuh corner dark."

The minister seized the opportunity to encourage students, at the school's prize giving ceremony recently to strive for excellence and the only way to do that is to start by getting a good education.

"It's your only hope for a better life anywhere in the world. This is not the age where when you apply for a job and you are asked what you can do and you say 'anything'. It doesn't work anymore, you need skills and competencies. Education makes you trainable, training makes you employable, employment makes you productive and productivity makes you prosperous," he declared.

While conceding that not everyone will be brilliant in the academics, Thwaites noted that everyone has the ability to try, adding that there are countless opportunities to make use of skills training.

"Education is the very best opportunity that any government, any church or any family can give the children. The government's responsibility in all of this is to ensure they use all the facilities to make sure we are getting the highest dividend from the investment already made in you the students and the training of teachers," said the minister.

Founding Principal Kerinth Campbell said the school envisions expanding its programmes, especially in the technical and vocational areas in keeping with thrust of Ministry of Education.

rural@gleanerjm.com