| Danial Norjidi |
THE Minister of Education, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman yesterday expressed his hope that graduates will be open-minded, utilise and develop their knowledge and skills to be independent, forward-looking, productive and create job opportunities not just for themselves but also for others.
The minister shared this while delivering a speech at the Cosmopolitan College of Commerce and Technology’s 11th Convocation Ceremony at the Empire Hotel & Country Club yesterday.
In his speech, the minister said it is right for the graduates to be happy because, as a result of their efforts, they will have certificates that signify the success and achievement of what they have been striving for.
“And this achievement, I am confident, arises from the realisation that for the students and all of us to achieve something in this life, we must endeavour and pray, not only while pursuing knowledge but also when stepping into the workplace, where a good work ethic is one of diligence with an approach that is creative and innovative that can produce quality work and which can increase productivity for an organisation.”
“Worker quality such as this is greatly needed in our efforts to develop the country, particularly where there is rapid economic development in other countries that are competitors and benchmarks for our country.”
He added that the whole process of education should guide graduates towards being self-reliant in living in the community and the country.
The minister said that in unpredictable economic conditions, employment oppor-tunities are affected.
He also noted the growing production of students and graduates, and the improved quality they achieve. “Alhamdulillah, this proves that the education policies implemented so far have succeeded in producing high quality students and graduates. And it is something to be proud of when there are graduates of ‘Brunei brand’ working overseas gaining recognition by their employers.”
He mentioned that universities in the country – Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) – have achieved rankings to be proud of in World University Rankings and said that this is a feat not only achieved by UBD and UTB, but should be regarded as an achievement of the country’s national education system.
“This success should provide confidence to our students and our graduates that educational knowledge supplied by both government and private higher educational institutions such as Cosmopolitan College and others, whether students and graduates pursue their studies inside or outside the country have a base education system that is stable at the primary and secondary stage and, Insya Allah, is more so with the existence of National Education System for the 21st Century (SPN21) which is currently implemented according to priority and phases that have been planned.”
This, he said, includes initiatives such as literacy and numeracy at primary and secondary level, as well as several other initiatives.
“Therefore, I hope that graduates from Cosmopolitan College like other colleagues from any institution in this country will be open-minded and use as well as develop all the knowledge and skills acquired from their education to be people who are independent and forward-looking as well as productive, who can create job opportunities not just for themselves but also for others.
“The era of dependence on the government to provide employment should no longer exist as before. This is because the economic growth of a country is generated by its highly educated people and residents through non-governmental sectors such as enterprises, ago agriculture, foreign investment and so on.”
He highlighted that seeking alternative employment besides the government can also ensure graduates become high-quality and dynamic citizens. “The contribution of students and graduates outside the government sector will bring even more national prosperity.”
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