| Young people, including students, from throughout the island, have heard a call from Professor Delroy Louden, of the Anguilla Community College, for the integration of entrepreneurship education into the schools’ curriculum at all levels from kindergarten to tertiary. |
He was at the time delivering an address at the just-concluded National Youth Conference. In making his case, he stressed that “no amount of ad hoc effort is sufficient to build a strong entrepreneurial culture.” Professor Louden stated that, historically, tertiary education had “not included the philosophy of self-reliance such as creating a new cultural and productive environment.” He argued that this was necessary to “promote pride in running one’s own business and the self-discipline, self-reliance associated with going out on one’s own, risk-taking, developing a viable business plan and managing a balance sheet.” The Anguilla Community College President emphasised: “The failure of tertiary education to inculcate this philosophy in many of our students has left enormous gaps in terms of human capital, and entrepreneurial and capacity development in countries such as Anguilla.” He said that in designing programmes for young men and women interested in starting their own businesses, consideration should be given to specific areas not only of need, but also of opportunity. He observed that young people were faced with a number of limitations. Among them were life and work experiences; financial resources; networks and contacts; exposure to relevant role models; and a lack of credibility often due to age discrimination. He pointed out, however, that young people had specific skills, experiences and abilities that could be developed to their advantage. These assets included the ability to learn quickly, and adapt to changing conditions. The following are recommendations made by Professor Louden: Inclusion of entrepreneurship as a component of the national curriculum; the development of curriculum, teaching resources and new teaching models that emphasise student-centred learning; professional development of teachers; building of resource centers and networks for the exchange of best practice; business education partnerships; entrepreneurial orientation for schools and administrators; building of community support; opportunities for students to experiment with venture projects and activities; student venture programmes and student business loans; and commitment from both Ministers of Finance, Economic Development and Education. In terms of developing a strategy to accomplish some or all of the above, Professor Louden submitted the following ideas for consideration: “The Youth Entrepreneurship Programme should be consistent with an economic empowerment strategy; private sector involvement must be encouraged; integration of the entrepreneurship programme with linkages and collaboration with other national programmes; and programme instruments should be flexible enough to respond to changes in the economic environment.” Apart from addressing concerns about difficulties facing young people in terms of establishing their own businesses, the participants in the National Youth Conference lamented the general unemployment situation affecting them and Anguilla on a whole. Three recommendations expressing their views were presented to the Government in the House of Assembly on October 5. These recommendations are printed elsewhere in this edition of The Anguillian. |
