Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre has underscored his administration’s recognition of the importance of education in an address at the public opening of the M.V Logos Hope, the floating book fair that has returned to Saint Lucia for the first time since 2017.
“Education is the single most important driver of wealth creation and social peace and my Government will prioritise its transformation,” Pierre declared.
He made reference to Saint Lucia Nobel Laureate, the late Sir Arthur Lewis, recalling that one of Lewis’ famous quotes etched on his tombstone on the Morne overlooking Castries, at the Community College named in his honour, was : “the fundamental cure to poverty is not money but knowledge.”
“Since Independence in 1979, we have made significant strides at expanding education and learning opportunities. I was part of a Government that achieved Universal Secondary Education fifteen years ago and alongside telecommunications liberalisation, we expanded access to the internet. Our mobile penetration rate is over 100% and Saint Lucians have become some of the most digitally literate people in the Caribbean,” Pierre observed.
“There is no doubt that we have come a long way. However, knowledge is not finite and we certainly have much further to go to become a knowledge-driven society and economy,” the Castries East MP noted.
He explained that some of the stated education goals of his new Administration include removing exam and facilities fees to make education more accessible to all; expanding the application of ICT in Education, including the provision of laptop devices to all students; and achieving an average of one university graduate per Saint Lucian household.
Headline photo: Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre on board the M.V .Logos
Comments are closed.