Education is one of the most important gifts that we can receive. After the defence of the realm and maintenance of good order, education is about the most important responsibility of the Government.
With a good education, which starts with the family nurturing their children but then built upon by life experience and educational institutions, we gain our economic success, health and culture. It is for each individual to find their own path through life but a good education enables us and makes us resilient whatever the challenge.
As a Member of Parliament, I get to see so much of what my constituents have achieved and I appreciate that one of the key building blocks for success is the education we receive.
I was privileged to attend one of the University of Bolton’s recent graduation ceremonies and see the Vice Chancellor confer two honorary doctorates and the degrees to hundreds of graduates from the School of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences.
Having thought that learning process would be paused for the celebration of the awards ceremony, there was plenty to appreciate during the event.
The University can trace its roots back nearly two hundred years to the Bolton Mechanics Institute founded in 1825 and it is now in the top forty for student satisfaction in the Guardian’s Best University Guide.
When listening to Ghazala Baig, CEO of MedEquip4Kids, and Luca Biccari, Foreign Minister of San Marino, I was inspired by the work being done for children across the region and the work that is still being done to improve the global financial markets since the banking crisis of 2008. Their speeches re-enforced the point about an ever changing society and technological advances requiring us all to adapt and that the rate of change is getting ever faster.
A narrative that is becoming increasingly strong is the sense of lifelong learning as well as the culture and values that support it. This is certainly what I heard from the speakers at the graduation ceremony including from the University’s student president, Uchenna Victor Moses.
The graduates, families and the whole of the University of Bolton have so much to be proud of.
This article was originally published in the Bolton News on 22nd July 2023: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/23669643.chris-green-education-gre…
