The Attorney-General and Acting Prime Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has advised parents not to look down on any profession.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum made this comment while officiating at the Narere Primary School prizegiving on Thursday night.
“No job is too small,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said. “Every profession must be respected. I know in some schools before, if a child doesn’t do well they are being told that they will end up being a farmer,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.
“A farmer is not a profession to be looked down upon. In fact farming is seen as one of the major career paths. Please encourage your children that primary school is not where it ends.”
He also reminded the students on the importance of education.
He said education was the most important asset a parent could give their children.
“It is an asset that once they attain that, they will not be able to lose it. You can give someone a house, a car and clothes, but they will lose them, but education and the attainment of knowledge is not something you will never lose,” he said.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum also encouraged teachers to ensure they teach children well.
“The teachers are basically the second parents for a child and they play a very critical role. If we don’t have good teachers in primary schools, our children will not have very good education and they won’t learn the world well.”
He said Government had allocated $424.2 million to the Ministry of Education for next year. This is an increase of $30.6 million from this year’s allocation.