Every child in Cayman must be seen as an individual and given the opportunity to take part in the ‘Caymanian dream,’ MLA Lucille Seymour told the Legislative Assembly.
Making an education focused contribution to the Throne Speech and Budget Address debate on Friday, the George Town Member said a main concern is youngsters leaving education innumerate and illiterate.
Education has to have a greater impact on the plight of the poorest student, she told the House.
People have to be prevented from falling into a ‘cesspool of hopelessness,’ she said.
Let it not be said that the government developed a nation for others while its own people waited for crumbs to drop from the table in a state of hopelessness, she added.
If young people are not given human development in terms of education they will not be able to emerge with the prerequisite skills to take their place in the labour market and the country will have to depend on external labour, she said.
Children deserve teachers – acting in loco parentis – who are committed to the cause.
‘If the child has not learned, the teacher has not taught,’ said Ms Seymour, adding that education is about character building, not just about academia.
She said there has to be a greater partnership between school and home and she wanted teachers to be able to know their children’s parents by name.
The country has to be able to attract and retain teachers through incentives, she added.
Too many young boys are wasting their lives and there is a need to put together a centre of rehabilitation for those in need of it, she told the House.
People in the forefront of industry have to be immersed in Caymanian culture, said Ms Seymour, who stressed that education and community development have been placed as a high priority by the government.
The country is an economic and financial wonder but people ask themselves who it is being developed for, she said.
The party which made up the government was formed to liberate people and give them the chance to develop and seize opportunities the economic miracle offers, she told the House.
Related Videos
