Students Urged to Develop Positive Values and Attitudes

Minister of Information, Senator Burchell Whiteman has called on high school students to take personal responsibility for their actions as part of the thrust to develop positive values and attitudes in the nation.
He was speaking on Thursday, November 4 at a seminar hosted by the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) in collaboration with the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) and the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPSCo), at the Knox College Auditorium in Spaulding, Clarendon.
“We in terms of building our nation have to take responsibility for the things that are within our charge, our care, so in the Values and Attitudes Programme we’ve been seeking to get the schools and institutions involved in promoting those positive values and attitudes which will help to make for better schools, better communities and a better country,” Senator Whiteman said.
The Values and Attitudes programme began in 1994 with a major consultation held in Kingston among some 1,200 representatives of the different sectors of society on how to make the society a more caring one.
Minister Whiteman pointed out that at least three proposals from the meeting and subsequent regional consultations, which involved young persons, had already been implemented.
These include the re-establishment of the National Youth Service, the improvement of the bus service in the corporate area (Kingston and St. Andrew), and the creation of a children’s code for television, which indicates whether the programmes are for mature audience, required parental guidance, or are for general viewing.
The seminar was aimed at increasing the awareness of young adults of major environmental concerns and the importance of conservation and resource management while inspiring them to develop positive values and attitudes. It is the first in a series of nine seminars to be held across the island where students will benefit from presentations on ‘The Safe use of Electricity’, ‘Energy Conservation’ and ‘Values and Attitudes’.
More than 300 students from some 12 High schools in Clarendon and Manchester including Clarendon College, Knox College and Knox Community College, Spaulding, Kellits, Alston, Lennon, Claude McKay, Christiana, Bellefield, and Thompson Town High as well as Holmwood Technical High, participated in the seminar.