Letter to the Editor-Some thoughts on education |25 August 2012

So, we can never give it enough importance and we can never do enough to give the best possible EDUCATION to our children.

To this effect, we need to provide courses which young people see as interesting, practical, realistic and worth doing without ever having a thought of leaving school.

We need to 'open doors' in order to give them glimpses of the future. We can do this by introducing them to 'adult life' while they are still at school.

I am glad to note in this respect that the Young People's Assembly, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and the Youth Training Programme are all a highly commendable effort in this direction, but I still think that more can be done to instil a SENSE OF HONESTY, DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY and develop LEADERSHIP QUALITIES in our children as well as teach them, above all, to THINK INDEPENDENTLY as 'budding adults'.

We must remember that academic education purely, though very important, is not everything in life.

We will be failing this generation of young people if we cannot persuade them that the skills they learn NOW will make all the difference to THEIR FUTURE. Every single boy or girl, no matter what his or her level of ability may be, has talents which can be developed. It is the job of the schools to identify those talents and see that the best possible use can be made of them.

Ultimately, it is our nation that will benefit. We shall thus be proud to have really well educated and worthy citizens, each using his or her developed talent to the full for the advancement of our nation.

John L. Adam