Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is challenging students on the island to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the government in schools in order to make themselves and the country proud.
Addressing the 18th Paix Bouche, Dos D’ane Village Council Inauguration on Tuesday, he said his government has invested over $35-million at the Dominica State College (DSC) to build one of the most modern state college facilities in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
“My challenge to you young people is, you must take advantage of these opportunities and make yourself and country proud,” he said. “Because the facts will show the efforts that are being manifested now are unprecedented. They were not the case before this government came into office, and we have to ensure we take advantage of this. Likewise those of you who attend the secondary schools, we provide similar arrangements and there is no reason why our children should not do well.”
Skerrit said doing well is a responsibility of the students, families and the school system.
“I should not be blamed, neither the minister should be blamed, if our children do not do well,” he argued. “I can say to you there were recommendations before to close this Dos D’ane Primary School and the Thibaud Primary School, and I said to the World Bank, who was pushing this and in some cases the staff of the Ministry of Education, I said, as long as I am Prime Minister of Dominica, no small school shall be closedbecause we understand as a party how important schools are for our community, but we must take advantage of the opportunities.”
Skerrit noted also that his government would like to see all students do well and to go out to study in order to come back and make a meaningful contribution to Dominica’s development.
Education without job opportunities is like building houses without roofs to shelter you .
Strong foundation but no future .
Create jobs build economy the private sector is suffering .
People are waiting to be employed companies what to higher but the money is not circulating .
We suffering from poor deposable income and a poor economy the books of the govt may seem to look good but the populatuion is feeling the heat .
Please do something in that area .
Jesus Dominicans can complain. You cannot do anything right. Instead of thinking of a complaint, sit and think, “what am I doing to make my country better?”. I guess when you are uneducated and never step foot outside of Dominica, you’d never understand how blessed we are. Leave Dominica and go to the USA and work at Walmart.
Shallow minded and short-sightedness of our leaders. The only tertiary institution on the island built on a hilltop with no thought of future expansion. Where is the space for basketball, cricket field swimming pool. Education and physical activities go hand in hand. I guess with the amount of obese kids on island by time they get to college no need to be physical.
We are educating the workforce for other countries, never ending circle
And once graduated there anent jobs for those that not kissing labour back side. so is pure exploitation and rubbish. give Dimitri ya advice. wicked you wicked. all you doing is enriching your cabal. get out mechaste. university graduates are paid $1900.00 by this government. modarah!!!
This PM Skerrit operates like a fast food chain, sells fast food nicely, knows nothing of the menu and then you wake up one morning you are suffering from obesity.
Skerrit’s promotes fancy dress, nice big buildings but leaves our students stranded at the end of the rope and because of no jobs and investments that encourages these poor parents to now walk up to the Supremo Red Clinic for handouts to survive. This inept PM Skerrit knows nothing of development, we now, so he repeats alot of the nonsense he spews out the day before and the year before. Nothing new, nothing of substance. This man will not be lecturing to my children about education. He, Skerrit is not a role model and his associates are questionable and appears dangerous and offer blind and loyalty support to an inflated PM with limited knowledge of development. Not ven Vielle Case and his constituency he is able to show a plan for its development, much less our poor Dominica, that he has hurt.
Just Go to Hell, Go to…
Dominican Students have unique opportunity to equip themselves especially now that we have more extensive and modern tertiary institutions and far more opportunities for scholarships. I think we have done a commendable job in the area of education across the board. Parents now must do as much as they possibly can to motivate and inspire and complement the work of the very hard working teachers.
I hope also that the relevant Ministry/authorities responsible for HR & employment would record the names of all those graduating from institutions of higher learning and their area of study in a database. then Whether they are employed in Dominica or elsewhere, the country can still tap into their knowledge. That should be the new “normal” for harnessing our Human Resource. If such a database does not already exist then one should be developed as a matter of urgency to complement the Ministry responsible for Education.
Development of the ICT Park with the assistance from China or India or both will assist the Government and country in drawing back these professionals to Dominica as indeed the Hon. Prime Minister has called for returning to contribute which is a very noble call to duty to country. I am especially pleased with the commissioning of the ICT Centre of Excellence because from the time the idea was conceptualized in the lobby of a hotel in Santiago de Chile in 2007 by myself and Mr. Anurag Sinha, the then Second Secretary to the Indian High Commission in Trinidad (on assignment to the Grenadian Government) we have come a long way – with too many hiccups I might add. Please to see the final result. Now we should look to building the ICT Park. I spoke of that ad nauseam. It is an opportune time to revisit the designs which was completed by architectural firm CEP INC. The land was allocated at Picard, The land was allocated at Picard, AID Bank, Invest Dominica (then NDC),
…Telecoms Ministry, Education, Tourism Ministry was involved in discussing the concept. Ian Williams and Mr. Warrington of the Aid Bank, including Dr. J Bernad Yankee were instrumental in financing the designs and cost estimates. At technical level there were many champions but I am not sure how it was perceived otherwise because it did not find enough champions at Executive/Legislative level. The concept went so far as to envisage anchor clients as CISCO and DeVry long before DeVry and State College had any bilateral discussions but too few people were willing to listen. It envisaged clustering of companies that would symbiotically support each other and light electronic manufacturing. As recent as 2013, after I left for UN Agency the concept was revived https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/economy-development/proposed-ict-parks-create-2000-jobs/.
IT CAN STILL BE DONE. I BELIEVE THAT HON. DARROUX COULD BE THE CHAMPION.
I place Trust in him to get it done
“go out to study”
Great idea…but then there’s nothing to do when we come back.
I’m here asking do students really come back?
“Skerrit noted also that his government would like to see all students do well and to go out to study in order to come back and make a meaningful contribution to Dominica’s development.”
That’s the problem. Education is all well and good but where there are a lack of resources as well as mismanagement of available resources, increased brain-drain will surely occur. We are a very smart people (probably the smartest on average in the Caribbean) but lack opportunities at home and will seek them elsewhere. Which is why there is a much larger population outside D/a than within.