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Tsere deplores ‘intellectual laziness’By Sukhdev Chhatbar, INTERNEWS
Youths have been exhorted not to lapse into ‘intellectual laziness’ after finishing their studies, but should strive to learn more and excel regionally and globally. Addressing parents and students at the seventh graduation ceremony for Form Six students at the Arusha Meru Secondary School, Mr Patrick Tsere, the Managing Director of the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) said that the students should learn things which would be useful to them and the society at large. "I want to tell you that this world in which we all live is full of new things as well as ideas that we have to learn. If you lapse into intellectual laziness then you will be finished," he told 94 boys and girls who successfully completed their A level studies. In the process of learning, he said, the students have to distinguish between what is good and evil." Shun all that is evil and embrace what is good." Regarding the EAC integration, Mr Tsere warned the students that unless they brace for the competition from Kenya and Uganda, their future would be bleak. "The future will definitely have room to accommodate the educated and learned…this is a reality which we cannot run away from. For us in Tanzania, the signs have started to show. We have EAC and the recently signed Customs Union, he said, adding that very soon EAC Common Market would be launched which would free movement of labour in the EA partner states. He explained: "There will not be any restriction to a Kenyan or a Uganda to come and work here(in Tanzania). So if our neighbours [Kenya and Uganda] are educated and you {Tanzanian youths] are not, it means that Tanzanian youths will be denied an opportunity to get better jobs." The graduands were also asked not to despair in this challenging world, but to face the future with courage and determination. Mr Brij Behal, the honorary manager of the School, revealed that this year the school would mark its 40th anniversary and as part of the celebrations would embark on a project to build a multipurpose hall for the school. "It is an ambitious and challenging undertaking but never impossible," he underscored. He reminded the school’s teachers, that teaching profession carried a major responsibility of nation building, saying "it is a profession where incompetence cannot be hidden." "Teachers are very crucial for the success of the education system and the development of the country," he stressed. Mr Joseph Yegela, Acting Headmaster, said last year 90 per cent of form VI students passed the national examinations. Additionally, the management has provided important facilities such as computers connected to Internet, books and laboratory equipment to improve the level of academic standards at the school. To cap the ceremony, Mr Tsere awarded certificates to best students.
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