“Education is to be able to reason, to use your ability to read and write to your benefit and to be able to gain your spectrum of knowledge by trying to surge deeper into the literate knowledge imparted to you.” – Kavya Vidyarthi http://listsurge.com/top-15-reasons-education-important/

I would further add that WITHOUT an education you will have no confidence within yourself to pursue your dreams. Human life would not have existed at all without education and knowledge being passed on to the future generations. The true meaning of life is completely dependent on education!

That is how important education is.

Cayman Islands Minister for Education, Tara Rivers, proposed a new education law for our country that was approved in the Legislative Assembly by all the members present.

Well done Ms Rivers.

It is long overdue.

I cannot remember anything being done during the previous administration to better our education system that was mainly tied down to a law first enacted in 1970!

Perhaps the Minister in charge at that time didn’t think it was important enough. I have struck out what I wrote next about him!!

This new legislation “will provide a substantive framework from which all policies, programmes and initiatives should emanate to ensure persons of all abilities are provided for,” Rivers said. “The bill seeks to ensure that the practice, management and regulation of education are guided by and enshrined in a solid legislative footing, correcting technical breaches of the law whereby the practices and policies of education have not been in keeping with what the current and essentially decades old law calls for.”

“It’s a comprehensive provision for education from cradle to grave,” she added, “starting from early childhood care and education to post-compulsory education, tertiary and technical vocational education and training.”

The bill would appear to have brought the law up to date with modern practices in the education system without going down the road to “privatization”. Instead Rivers used the word “partnerships”. The bill included the means to “harness” partners who might want to help address this provision, Rivers explained.

The new law will regulate and set standards for existing private sector schools as well as public schools. It also allows government and the ministry to set education policy.

The minister also pointed out the bill was the first piece of legislation passed by the government in line with the new disabilities bill.

In addition included in the compulsory subjects (mathematics and English are of course there) are religious studies, civics and Caymanian culture.

Just listening to her and reading through the whole new bill I increased my education fourfold.

Whatever that means …..