– Granger says these will help country ‘take off’

PRESIDENT David Granger has said his government will do more to encourage young people to get involved in the science and technical fields. On his weekly television programme, The Public Interest, the President underscored the importance of investing in the development of more technical and vocational institutes, in addition to creating opportunities in the world of science.
“You give the schools laboratories in botany, in chemistry, in physics, in biology, in zoology and you will see this country take off. And those students who seem not to have the aptitude, you will see how well they perform. So my approach and the Government’s approach is to provide facilities,” President Granger explained.
As such, he said the foundation must be laid at the level of the Cyril Potter College of Education, explaining that teachers must be granted the opportunity to explore even more in the sciences, vocational and technical fields.
In this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination, the overall results indicated excellent performances in 15 subjects where the Grades One to Three passes exceeded 75 per cent.
Those subjects were: Agricultural Science (DA), Agricultural Science (SA), Biology, Food & Nutrition, French, Home Economics Management, Information Technology, Principles of Business, Religious Education, Theatre Arts, Electronic Document Preparation and Management, Physical Education & Sport, Music, Building Technology (Const.) and Building Technology (Woods).
Significant improvement was also noted in Biology and Physics. Grades One to Three passes in Biology moved from 59.3 percent last year to 76.38 percent this year, while Physics moved from 44.81 percent last year to 55.83 percent this year. Human & Social Biology showed improvement in Grade One to Three passes from 49.35 percent last year to 58.42 percent this year.
In addition to focusing on the sciences, President Granger said his Government will continue to place emphasis on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), noting that more IT laboratories will be established in schools across the country. “I have been into some hinterland schools, you have got the machines, the computers there, but you don’t have internet connection, so overall, we hope that by liberalizing the telecommunication sector…children in all schools [would be]…able to access the information they need.”
Teachers, he said, upon entering the Cyril Potter College of Education, will be provided with laptop computers to aid in their studies.