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Importance Of Education In The Caribbean

Importance Of Education In The Caribbean

With all of the potential upside in the Caribbean, why does it appear as though education is of little to no importance?  What needs to be done about it?

Caribbean The Education Importance

QUOTE

With all of the potential upside in the Caribbean

That maybe just it. What is the potential upside? If a man becomes educated, but there are only jobs for uneducated people then what is the sense? It is obvious that the educated man will venture elsewhere for education.

Importance Of Education In The Caribbean Caribbean / Tobago & Trinidad

Agriculture, natural gas, tourism, manufacturing, etc.  Geographically located near West Africa so as to facilitate exchange of resources for finished products.

Education is the tool for figuring out how to use what you have.  It is not the panacea to help you get a job that someone else can control/define.  If given lemons, then make lemonade.  Do let somebody with ulterior motives convince you that your lemons are nothing, throw them away right over here.

Caribbean The Education Importance

Okay, so then you are saying that education needs to focus on preparing people to meet the resources they have to work with? What is the use of having someone learn rocket science if he is not going to be able to use his new talent and education?

Rather off topic, but...
Welcome to the forum. Please do update your profile. You also used your opening post for this topic but did not say nothing about yourself.

Caribbean The Education Importance

I think I missed your point.  However, reportedly currently 55,000 manufacturing jobs are being "worked" in Trinidad but only 2100 people have the skills and education to handle the upper level management/decision making/technical end of the process.  Those positions that are available are being worked by people from outside the country.  And the adult literacy rate is reportedly 70%.  The ideas and creativity needed to develop the economy probably won't come from a population with those statistics.

Importance Of Education In The Caribbean

I think education is vital in any country. Personally as a foreigner living in Trinidad, I notice that Education is not a serious priority in the Government. The best example is trying to find a 'normal and suitable' pre-school for my 3 and half years old son and it seems impossible to find qualified teachers (yes, most of them are NOT teachers) proper premises (clean and safe), and learning techniques that will help the child for entering primary school (yes, most pre-schools are day care centers!).
Then most of the kids at primary level and secondary level do not know how to read and write properly....and is not their fault. The whole education system is meant for the smart ones and the ones who are a bit slow are throw away in a juinor secondary where they will waste their time and the teachers time with other kids who have behaviour problems (you have all together the slow learners and the rebels one all in the same place, its crazy!)..
The whole system is terrible in my opinion. I don't even have to mention University, where only 3% of the population access to tertiary education!....but they go and build this HUGE library in POS! for what? for who??? isn't better to build small libraries all across Trinidad and Tobago where people can access it better than to build a huge one in the city? :.
Education starts at home but we know not everybody is blessed with a family who thinks that way, that's why I strongly believes that school should give the child that encouragment, that support, not licks when the child doesn't do his homework or call him 'chupid' because he got an answer wrong...please! encouragment and love is what is going to change the whole mentality about Education in Trinidad. Trained and qualified teachers who care about each one of their students...this is not something impossible to do, there are teachers like that around the world and we can have them here in Trinidad too but everything, everything people is a matter of changing the attitude and the banana-republic type of thinking.

Importance Education The Caribbean

Thank you for your opinion.  I certainly can appreciate your emotion and commitment as evidenced by your comments.  I wish you the best of luck in locating suitable resources for your child and agin thanks for your comments.

Importance Education The Caribbean Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean

Your Question:

My Answer: What is the potential upside? If a man becomes educated, but there are only jobs for uneducated people then what is the sense?

Or in other words...

Locals are not informed as to upcoming needs and thus they may study the wrong fields or not have access to the right education. Here is an example: the market is flooded with IT specialists, but most go away to work because Trinidad does not pay, and does not have the need. We are left with a saturated public of IT specialists that end up taking jobs that an uneducated person can do. Thus the average guy thinks, 'Why should I study if I am oing to end up working at KFC?'

Is that better or would you like me to elaborate more? By the way, please do update your profile by clicking on the 'Profile' link in the top menu.