Speech by
Her Excellency Mrs. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim,
G.C.S.K., C.S.K., Ph.D., D.Sc.,
President of the Republic of Mauritius
on the occasion of the
59th Annual Conference
of the
Association of Schools for The Indian School Certificate
Organized by the
City Montessori School
Thursday 24 November, 2016 at 09 00 hours
Lucknow, India
Dr Jagdish Gandhi, Founder of the City Montessori School
Dr (Mrs) Vineeta Kamran, Principal of City Montessori School
All Protocols Observed
Dear Students
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
A very good morning to you all!
It's so nice to see you again on the second day of your Annual Conference.
I am sure you had a wonderful and fruitful session yesterday.
To-day, I want to start by sharing with you an inspiring quote from
Mahatma Gandhi that dates back to 1927, and this is what he said:
[Quote] "A true soldier does not argue as he marches, how success is going
to be ultimately achieved. But he is confident that if he only plays his humble
part well, somehow or other the battle will be won. It is in that spirit that
every one of us should act. It is not given to us to know the future. But it is
given to everyone of us to know how to do our part well." [Unquote]
This second quote from the famous English poet and essayist, James Allen,
is also relevant and should inspire you in the process of your deliberations:
"Every Man is where he is by the law of his being. The thoughts that he has
built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of
his life there is no element of chance. All is the result of a law which cannot
err. This is just as true of those who feel 'out of harmony' with their
surroundings as those who are contented with them." [Unquote]
And in the words of Martin Luther King Jr, "The function of education is to
teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus characterthat is the goal of true education." [Unquote]
That's the reason we are all here to-day-to ensure that true education is
imparted to our children.
I am glad that this is also the mission that underpins the citadel of learning
that City Montessori School epitomizes in the educational landscape in
India.
Thank you Dr Gandhi for such lofty ideals of your school.
As an educationist in my past life, I am convinced that education and
excellence in education are the necessary conditions for the future and
tomorrow will belong to those who prepare for it to-day.
3
Jiddu Krishnamurthy said: " There is no end to education. It is not that you read
a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from
the moment you are born and to the moment you die, is a process of learning."
[Unquote]
So, my dear students, remember that passing the School Certificate is only
the beginning of your long educational journey.
That journey is like treading into an uncharted and unknown world.
There are no limits and no boundaries.
There is no certainty at all about where you will be heading or how you will
reach there.
Most of the time what you will see is a long, narrow and straight freeway
stretching into a fairly blurred horizon.
Allan Toffler, in his international bestseller, "Powershift", has described it
as "terra incognito", that is, the uncharted landscape of tomorrow.
And what you will not find there are easy and ready-made answers.
The only certainty is that the future will not be a continuation of what the
world has been in the past.
Rather, it will be a never ending series of discontinuities and turbulent
times.
It will be a world for the survival of the fittest.
If you want any chance of success and survival, you will have to do
something.
That will imply rethinking the future and how to prepare for it.
What we are talking here is a task of gigantic dimension and magnitude.
If you want to make any sense of the future, and your own lives, you will
have to take charge of them.
And that's where your education matters and has a crucial role to play.
The world is changing drastically, and if we have to cope with that change,
then we have to per force, review the way our children are being educated
in order to prepare them to face this new and uncertain world.
Our schools in this 21st century will have to be transformed into a place
for teachers and students to work as partners and connect with the
imperatives of the international environment.
4
Teachers in this new world will have to be less instructors and more
orchestrators of information and knowledge, giving children the ability to
turn knowledge into wisdom.
We know that the role of the teacher is already changing in a significant
and positive way.
Today, the teacher, considered as the ‘sage on the stage’, now functions
more as a ‘guide on the side’.
This change in function is embedded within the more general shift from
what might be termed a ‘teacher-centred’ model of education to a ‘studentcentred’ model.
There are many skills that our children will need in the 21st century which
been branded as the century of knowledge.
These include the ability to collaborate and work in teams, critical
thinking, problem-solving, oral and written communication skills, the
ability to use technology and the capacity to conduct research to learn
about new issues and concepts.
Students will have to collaborate with their counterparts from different
schools in different countries to learn about issues that affect them most
and are relevant for their self-development, including the study of green
education, climate change, bio-diversity, sustainable development, poverty
alleviation, and how to tackle the scourges of hunger and famine.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It may take some time before our schools and teachers are equipped to
properly educate in this 21st century but once they are the results will be
dramatic.
The objective is to engage children into a continuous learning process that
will open up greater opportunities for them in their future lives as well as
guarantee their employability in the job market.
We live in times that are so revolutionary that they demand new and
different abilities even if most of the skills that are required in this era are
not new.
For example, critical thinking and problem solving have been components
of human progress throughout history, from the development of early tools,
to agricultural advancements, to the invention of vaccines, to land and sea
exploration.
Such skills as information literacy and global awareness are not new,
neither is the need for mastery of different kinds of knowledge, ranging
from facts to complex analyses?
5
What's new is the extent to which changes in the global economy are
impacting our society.
Today, we cannot afford a system of high-quality education that targets
only a happy few.
A more equitable and effective public education system, should be universal
and reach out to every child, and more so, in a society such as ours, founded
on democratic traditions, values and principles.
If a country wants to be competitive in the global market, it must have a
highly qualified workforce proficient in mathematics and the general
sciences.
It is our school’s responsibility to prepare students for the 21st century,
and STEM skills are what they must have.
STEM education is becoming the logical tool to impart these skills at the
secondary level, and even at the primary level.
Through exposure to STEM knowledge and practices, students will enhance
their understanding and perhaps more students will participate in STEMrelated careers.
Learners in the 21st century will be required to exhibit understanding and
skills that were unknown in the traditional method of education.
Learning through a STEM curriculum will, I am sure, reinvigorate students’
desires to understand the world around them and enable them to cope with
the emerging challenges with seriousness of purpose and determination.
Be that as it may, reforming our education system to shift the focus of
learning that will match the educational needs of the global economy while
reconstructing the unity and value of knowledge is of paramount
importance.
Countries that are successful to-day have invested massively in educational
reforms with a strong emphasis on the study of science.
It is therefore no surprise that over the past decade, China and India have
grown as leading producers of engineers and technicians.
10 years ago, China was generating 500,000 engineers and India 200,000
whilst the United States were supplying only 70,000 engineers to their
workforce.
To-day, the scenario is different.
Both are known to be giant economic powerhouses.
It is clear to-day that engineering and technological fields are the main
drivers of growth.
6
In today’s quest for a knowledge-based economy, science, technology and
engineering are sine qua non to accelerate the process of growth and
economic prosperity.
Modernization in every aspect of life is the greatest example of the benefits
of science and technology.
Developments in science and technology are fundamentally altering the
way people live, connect, communicate and transact.
The technological revolutions of the 21st century are emerging from
entirely new sectors, based on micro-processors, tele-communications, biotechnology and nano-technology.
Products are transforming business practices across the globe as never
before thanks to STI.
That's why we have to equip our youth with all possible means and facilities
to stimulate their thirst for scientific research and development.
We have to continue to support and motivate them, as the future of our
nation is in their hands.
As late Dr Abdul Kalam said and I quote:
"They are our hope for tomorrow. ..... they have a burning desire to scale
greater heights. If their energies are properly channeled, they will unleash
a momentum that would propel the nation on the fast track of development."
[Unquote]
Again, Dr Abdul Kalam sums it up beautifully when he said:
[Quote] " The education system has a tremendous responsibility to
transform a child into a leader- the transformation from 'what can you do
for me' to ' what I can do for you'." [Unquote]
This is the kind of spirit and attitude that should be inculcated in our
children.
At the same time, we need to instill in the minds of our young and talented
people the value of entrepreneurship that will provide them with the
knowledge, freedom, creative and intellectual capacity to generate wealth
for the economy.
When we look around us, what we see is that people are increasingly
embracing entrepreneurship for a professional career.
As somebody from Harvard has said: "Entrepreneurship is a choice that is
additive, rather than absolute, and it offers upside opportunity and downside
protection, all while making lives richer and more interesting." [Unquote]
I am sure the same can apply to our youth.
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Entrepreneurship can be your future insurance policy and the passport for
a successful life.
With these words, I would like to reiterate my heartfelt thanks and
gratitude to you all for the love and affection you have shown to us in this
magnificent city of yours and which go straight to our heart.
You can rest assured that we will carry back with us very sweet memories
of our stay in Lucknow and we will cherish them for a very long long time.
It has been such an immense pleasure being here with you for this
Conference.
I wish you all well and success in your life.
May God shower his blessings upon you!
Good luck!
Long live India!
Long live Mauritius!
Long live the India-Mauritius Friendship!
I thank you for your attention.