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Graduands of the??Bay Primary School listen attentively as Prime Minister Freundel Stuart delivers his address.
(C. Pitt/BGIS)

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has warned that the days of going to school to gain qualifications to "snag that high paying job" are slowing coming to an end.??

He made this suggestion last Wednesday, during the graduation ceremony of the Bay Primary School at Hilton Barbados.

Apart from dwindling job opportunities, Mr. Stuart also cautioned that the prospects of students moving on from secondary school to tertiary level?? and competing for a space will become narrow.

"The jobs are just not there anymore waiting for those who would apply for them.?? And for those who might be desirous of moving on to university after leaving secondary school, present indications are that, with the cost of university education rising steadily in Barbados and elsewhere across the globe, competition for spaces will stiffen, requiring you to satisfy much higher standards of performance if you are to secure a place," he suggested.

While at secondary school, the Prime Minister urged the graduands to approach their education not with a view to attaining Caribbean Examinations Council or ???A’ Level Certificates, but with the ability to tackle the challenges which countries with scarce resources like Barbados faced.

"In other words, you have to see education not in terms of the duties it imposes; not in terms of what it allows you to get, but, rather in terms of what it moves you to contribute to the shaping of a better and fairer world.?? Put simply, you have to give the world an idea," Mr. Stuart emphasised.

Meanwhile, in, her report, the Principal’s report, Marielon Gamble, commended the 55 students for their outstanding performance in this year’s Common Entrance Examination and teachers for working diligently with the students.

She described the graduation ceremony as an important milestone in the lives of the impressionable 11-year-olds and urged their parents to continue to play a role in their lives.

"…I am delighted to share this special moment with you.?? Many of you have played significant roles up to this point and I urge you to continue to be a part of his or her life during the upcoming years in secondary school.?? Your children are a gift to you from God … I urge you to treasure them," Ms. Gamble surmised.??????

jwilson@barbados.gov.bb

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