20 December 2021
The Ministry of Education and Human Resources is under pressure to find a solution to the issues facing youths in the country following the last month’s riot and looting in Honiara
This came after 33 juveniles of the 217 people were arrested on the initial stage of the unrest.
The Minister of Education and Human Resources, Lanelle Tanangada told Parliament during the Sine Die motion recent that two questions came to her mind after reading the new on newspaper.
The questions are:
How else can we educate and train our children so they can learn positive behavior and not easily influenced by others and do not even join mobs that caused violence?
How else we can teach our children so that they not only possess the necessary skills and competency and right attitude to survive in this ever changing world and contribute positively to the social and economic development of this country but also become law abiding citizens who can freely live with their fellow citizens and environment as well demonstrate respect for one and another, respect the properties, express their opinions on sensitive issues that affect them but with caution and understanding irrespective of their differences such ethnicity, culture, religions and political affiliation?
Minister Tanangada said this recent riot and involvement of many youths in looting and burning of shops in Honiara has exerted more pressure on her ministry to step up its plans and efforts to educate and train our young people so that they are not left behind and be prepared well for the future.
She said the burning of Honiara High School was very sad indeed.
“Why would rioters target a learning institution?
“It should be the least building rioters should target,” she added.
“These are the many challenges that we must find solutions to and the intervention that my ministry would consider would form the basis of our reform agenda to improve quality of our education system.
“Despite the gaps in education system to prepare our young people for their future, I am still optimistic and hopeful for a future yet some difficulty decisions have to be made as we progress in terms of designing learning pathways for our young people,” she said.
“And I believe we can use education as a tool to empower our young people so that they can realise their full potentials and choose to make good choices and decisions that can avoid them resort to violence,” she said.
Minister Tanangada added there is a need to insert peace education in the curriculum to promote culture, peace and unity.
Source and quoted from today’s article in the Island Sun newspaper.
Comment
All too often after civil disturbances resulting in property damage, arson, rioting and looting, even similar occurrences during the period described loosely at the period of “Ethnic Tension,” youths figured significantly in the unlawful activities and why?
I don’t have the answers but am not reluctant to give some clues.
Youth unemployment remains rife and, without meaningful work, many youths have become an under-class, of bored, frustrated individuals and have taken to marijuana and kwaso, fuelling their habits and activities.
A large number of such youths have left their villages and family members to try and find work in urban centres but to no avail.
Rural Training Centres do great work but are poorly resourced and equipped. When a young graduate finally leaves the place with skills in woodworking and metal craft it often the case he/she finds difficulty in putting learned skills into practice. If down streaming was in place things might be better, but the idea of down streaming is still a theory.
Without money and means of support when the chance arises for looting, as happened most recently, they follow the mob, or are principally involved themselves in looting from shops for food and possessions only money could buy.
The birth rate is far too high and some means must be adopted to curtail the ever increasing births, already manifesting in street kids, pressure on services, on education, on health care, on job opportunities, when they do arise, and on the government, urban services and the police, to mention just a few.
Corruption is evident and young people must be influenced in their code of conduct and morale judgment when corruption exists around them. One serving government minister admitted, only a few days ago, that corruption exists and is practiced by some MPs currently in office. What kind of message does that convey to any youth struggling to have faith and ideals for a future?
Attacking a school recently and causing considerable damage to it was a wanton criminal act which is hard for many to believe would happen, but could it perhaps be those that caused the willful acts were acting out of a sense of having missed out on schooling for one or more reasons and had come to see the school as a place for those more privileged than they had become? Perhaps, not the case at all and the act some malicious means of pay back at a system of schooling they had missed, or avoided, and punishment of a government they might have deemed uncaring for their lot in life.
Customary land tenure and holding is complex in the Solomon Islands and one of the main stumbling blocks to outside investment with projects thought possible some years ago with ideas mooted of Economic Zones bringing industry, jobs and export potential of manufactured products.
Until, and when land is made available, I see no outside investment and the jobs that are needed.
In China the government moved millions of its underclass citizens into specially constructed major industrial cities, on a scale never before seen in history. Given the unique system of customary land holding the Chinese will not, I believe, want to ‘rock the boat’ locally, but frankly, until there is the creation of work and income for all, coupled with the factors I have highlighted about curtailing the high birth rate and stopping corruption, I fear I will again have to read of the MEHRD bemoaning concerns over the youth.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
