IN JAMAICA: Education is our only hope......This is in fact a clarion call to action.....No longer should poverty be allowed to be a bandit of our young people's dreams operating with impunity.

AS we start the new school semester I am compelled to resurrect the discussion about the effective funding of tertiary-level education.

Students at Tarrant High School attend a computer class.

This is in fact a clarion call to action. No longer should poverty be allowed to be a bandit of our young people's dreams operating with impunity. Daily I am confronted with other Jamaicans who are cerebral and who have been fighting to free themselves of the shackles of poverty by hopping onto this vehicle called education which, even with the fare increases, remains the only legitimate modality for upward social mobility.

It is accepted that education is the ultimate redemptive tool for families that suffer from abject poverty. Education is responsible for the triumphs of many successful businessmen, nation-builders, and leaders.

No longer can we continue to enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought, thus I have cerebrated long about the matter and I have placed some recommendations before the Parliament. more