Twenty-Seven Schools Awarded in Values and Attitudes Competition

The Values and Attitudes competition for primary schools culminated yesterday (May 26) at the West Jamaica Conference Centre in Montego Bay, with some 27 schools awarded for outstanding achievements.
Hosted by the Cabinet Office and sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Youth, the competition, which was launched in October 2005, saw schools judged in three main categories including, appearance of school plant, attitude and conduct of students, and teacher support.
Of the many outstanding schools that were recognized, Savanna-La-Mar Primary emerged overall champions, with Enfield and Unity Primary Schools being runners-up.
The staging of the Values and Attitudes competition among primary schools came against the background that any meaningful campaign on values and attitudes must target the primary school population.
Chairman of the National Steering Committee on Values and Attitudes, Dr. Heather Little-White, told JIS News that the culmination of the competition showed that the school population had taken the concept very seriously, based on the high level and quality of the entries presented.
“We are happy that Western Jamaica has taken such a lead in this pilot project and we at the Ministry can now roll this out across Jamaica . as we are at a time when values and attitudes have gone down so badly in the country. In the long run however, we expect the competition to assist greatly in re-instating Jamaica to the place it used to be – a land of peace and love,” Dr. Little-White stated.
“This programme should inculcate the kinds of values and attitudes we wish to see manifested in the society . because if children can take values from self to community, to Jamaica, then definitely there is hope for Jamaica, hope for our school systems and hope for our young people,” Dr. Little-White pointed out.
Meanwhile, Editor of the Western Mirror Newspaper, Lloyd B. Smith called on students to “go back to your schools and communities and be pioneers of change, as we need to change Jamaica and this process of change must begin with the individual”.