Dionne Rose, Staff ReporterTHE MINISTRY of Education, Youth and Culture will be implementing two major programmes in schools across the island to help curb violence and inculcate positive values and attitudes in students.
The programmes will be implemented in schools across the island at the start of the new academic school year. One of the programmes, the values and attitudes competition in primary schools, will be launched in 51 primary and junior high schools in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture's Region 4 on September 11.
Monica Holness, acting chief education officer at the ministry, told The Gleaner that the competition is aimed at "inculcating positive attitudes in children, for example, how they take care of the environment, how they relate to each other, how they behave on the bus."
She said the competition will be in the form of poster, essay and drama entries, which will be judged in April. Each school will also be judged on attendance, level of violence, demonstration of values and attitudes, and friendly environment.
"We want to develop positive attitudes and respect for each other," Mrs. Holness said, while hoping that the competition will help to reduce violence in schools at this level.
The competition is being staged in collaboration with the Values and Attitudes Committee and will be extended to other schools after April.
Dr. Heather Little-White, deputy convenor of the Values and Attitudes Committee said that the competition was a way of "restoring good values and attitudes that will make our society a kinder and gentler place".
"The education system is a good medium where we can reach a wide number of young people to sensitise them about being respectful, caring and demonstrating love given the increasing levels of violence in schools," she said.
Prime Minsiter P.J. Patterson established the Values and Attitude Committee in 1994.
