Fadhlina: Schools to focus on noble values, morality

THE fight against graft is starting with students.

Schools nationwide will ramp up efforts to help the nation combat corruption by enhancing Moral Education and Pendidikan Islam; strengthening the inculcation of nilai-nilai murni (noble values) through the teaching and learning of all subjects across the curriculum; and including specific topics about the ills of corruption in the Bahasa Melayu subject for upper secondary students.

These measures, said Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, are in line with a circular issued by the ministry in 1998 to include anti-corruption elements in the curricula of schools and higher education institutions nationwide.

“The importance of honesty is promoted in the Moral Education subject under the Primary School Standard Curriculum (KSSR) for Year Six students.“And anti-corruption elements are included in the Forms One and Two curricula,” she told Parliament in a written reply to Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai on March 30.

Tan had asked whether the ministry would introduce an anti-corruption module in the primary and secondary school curricula to cultivate honest values among students.

Fadhlina said the ministry had also included anti-corruption elements in Civics Education at primary and secondary levels based on four core values: love, respect, responsibility and happiness.

“The ministry takes anti-corruption and integrity very seriously.

“We want to emphasise karamah insaniah (human dignity) by inculcating courtesy, morality and integrity among students to prevent them from being involved in negative activities,” she said, adding that early exposure to anti-corruption education in the school curricula would result in students detesting the practice.