The purpose of education has always been to lift the mist of ignorance and cultivate the praiseworthy virtues that come with knowledge and understanding. But even more virtuous is the using of that knowledge to uplift and elevate the conditions of your people to higher fields of development and progress. This, especially if you hail from the underdeveloped part of the world, where the highest levels of illiteracy and under education thrive.
Since the advent of the University of The Gambia, we have seen great advancements in all sectors of our society. We now have more medical doctors, for example, than ever before in our history as a nation. We also are seeing the rise of a strong academic environment, with the many seminars, conferences and debates on many issues relating to academia and society. The UTG and the Gambia College are indeed success stories for a nation that was academically and intellectually stifled for a long time. With the graduation of thousands this month, we join many others in offering our warmest congratulations to the management and students of the university. Looking how far you’ve come as an institution is very inspiring; great progress being registered year after year.
Yet it’s also necessary to realise the great responsibility you are called to take on and not to shy away from it. An educated person owes his people a lot. Service borne out of the need for greater improvement for our societies and communities is needed and indispensable in achieving the development goals of the government. Those who are lucky enough to be educated to such levels, have a mighty responsibility to go out there and place their services with the people in need and want.
The highest calling for any human being throughout the ages has always been that of selfless service for the betterment of mankind. Unless we plant those seeds of the need to serve and help those who need our services the most, then we will be faced with the same problems we inherited from the past generations. Our society is bedeviled by poor healthcare, a deplorable educational system and the best and fastest way to deal with these menaces is to apply methodologies rooted in intellectual reasoning and proper academic practice.
So it goes without saying that the recent graduates need to submerge themselves into service. It doesn’t in anyway mean foregoing earning good salaries but putting service at the forefront of all endeavours. That way their education becomes a noble thing that would further the interest of the entire nation without hindering the individual lives of those called to serve. The great men and women of all times and places were not the ones who made abundant riches and lived luxurious lives; the great ones have always or many times, been the ones who transcended their personal preferences for that of the collective. They moved beyond their comfort zones and used all the means they possessed, whether it is material or intellectual to advance the causes they believed would lead humanity to another positive level. Thanks to them today, we enjoy many privileges. From the great works in medicine to the ever-advancing technology.
And this is what you’re called upon to do; to make use of the knowledge gained in the citadels of learning and selflessly serve the nation. It won’t be an easy task to fulfill this calling, but it will always be worth it when someday you look back and you’re pleased that you’re indeed passing unto posterity a world that you made better than it was. A noble call for a noble thing: serving a world that needs service more than ever before, in the face of an unreleting corporate greed and intellectual dishonesty. Once again congratulations.
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