The culture among university-level students to not join the workforce must change, President Dr Irfaan Ali has asserted.
This is especially important as the government moves towards providing free tertiary education by 2025, he added.
The Head of State was at the time speaking during the Local Content Summit which opened on Tuesday at the Pegasus Suites, Georgetown.
“There is a lot of value (to working and studying),” President Ali expressed as he lamented the culture among local students.
“Here in Guyana, we somehow believe it is demeaning (to work and study),” the president pointed out.
“And I want us to change that before we go to free university education…”
The existing posture, he argued, can create an environment where students become too “laidback”.
“Because in the developed society, you have to earn whilst you’re at university because you have bills to pay. But it’s not only about earning, it’s the experience, it is adding to your theoretical knowledge…and it builds that experience that is necessary to transition from the world of education into the world of work.”
Moreover, pointing to the labour shortage, he contended that “we don’t see enough of our students in the labour market”, adding that this is detrimental to the rapid rate of development of the local economy.
“For us to grow at the rate we have to grow, we have to deploy every single labour that is available,” the president said.
The government has already announced plans to waiver student loans as it moves towards free education at the University of Guyana by 2025, in a phased manner.
