A total of 266 Grade 10 students from De La Salle Secondary School participated in the Senisim PNG Program on Monday under a partnership between the Education Department and the PNG Tribal Foundation.
These 266 students are the first batch from more than 1,000 students in Grades 9 to 12 who will take part in the Senisim PNG Program a transformation roundtable focused on good values and servant leadership, initiated by the Maxwell Leadership Foundation.
The program will guide students through values-based training via group sessions over the next 11 weeks, beginning next week at the school.
Senisim Pasin national coordinator for education Manasseh Davey said the school’s administration is excited to be part of the program.
“We’ve started with the Grade 10 students, and the Grade 12s will join tomorrow (Wednesday),” he said. “We look forward to engaging the entire school in the coming weeks.”
Allan Jim, First Secretary of the Education Department’s Guidance and Counselling Division for the Highlands and New Guinea Islands, highlighted the importance of such initiatives.
“There is an absence of good morals and practiced values in schools, at home, and in society,” he said. “I am seeing students chewing betelnut and smoking in their uniforms at many schools.
“As a parent, it worries me. We need to improve the attitude and behaviour of our children our future generation.
“I’ve gone through the training with staff from the Education Department, and we want every school to be part of this program,” Mr Jim said.
Mr Davey confirmed that De La Salle is the fourth school to partner with the PNG Tribal Foundation and expressed optimism that more schools will join the program in the near future.