BY CHARLES KADAMANA
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for Hograno Kia and Havulei constituency Jeremiah Manele has urged Sir Dudley Tuti College graduates to keep on striving for success.
He highlighted this during the school’s graduation ceremony for grade six, forms-3, 5,6 and 7 on Saturday.
He said graduation marks the end of one phase and the beginning of the next journey where others will continue while others will not go further.
But he said they should remember that it is not the end of the world as opportunities are always available.
“You have other opportunities to pursue including skills training and self-employed.
“There are success stories of those whole only reached form 3 or even grade 6 but have become successful individuals or business entrepreneurs so stay focused and be positive,” he told the graduates.
Manele also shared some of his reflections and observations relevant to education success and learning.
He said one of the essences of success is time, discipline and punctuality.
“Time is of essence, do not waste your time. You have to set your priorities right and have study table daily. I believe having a study timetable is great strategy for effective learning,” he said.
Manele said he found this useful when he was at secondary school and even at university.
He said Solomon Islands has a big problem of keeping to time and that is why punctuality is important.
He said the attitude of Solomon time -turning up late for work, leaving office early and not turning up at all without good reasons will continue to have a negative impact on our country’s progress and development.
Therefore, punctuality is critical for effective learning at school but also for progress at work in our daily lives.
He added another essence of success is Aim high and work hard.
He encourages the graduates to aim high and set their priorities right. For example, they must work or study hard to get good grades.
He said not all students are genius but through hard work they can become lawyers, teachers, pilot, engineers, carpenters and other professions.
He said to be successful in education students must also set their goals and targets.
“By setting goals and targets, we are motivating and helping to instil discipline in our children to ensure that our investment in their education will be a success. We cannot achieve our goals if we are not disciplines,” he said.
Above all, Manele said they must always put God first in their studies.
“As young people, you should always remember and put God first in your education endeavours.
He said he found this to be true when he was a student, public servant and even now as a politician.
Going forward, he urges the graduands to prepare for the challenges that lies ahead for them in order excel for success.
“You may not have the power to inspire the entire world to strive for success but you do have the power to try to achieve if for yourselves.
“I challenge you to do all that you can do to reach your full potential,” he told the graduates.
