Tuesday, February 04, 2014 | 10:06 AM
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Generation 2000 (G2K), the young professional affiliate of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has disagreed with a stance by the People’s National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) for political clubs to be established in high schools.
“While we strongly believe that young people should be introduced to proper principles of governance and democracy, we are however wary of wanting to introduce minors to political clubs especially in our current tribal system of politics,” said G2K president Floyd Green.
“What is needed is a strong civics programme where students are made to understand the concept of citizenship and the rights and responsibilities that are embodied in that concept and how that interacts with the political process,” Green added.
According to G2K vice president Matthew Samuda, high schools students are already exposed to the concepts of representation and politics through participation in their clubs and societies and especially through student councils.
He argued that Students Councils “should be strengthened so that the voice of the student representative can truly effect change throughout secondary schools”.
G2K further accused the PNPYO of having senior students at a prominent high school use the public announcement system to encourage children at the school to join the PNPYO.
“That was not a push to form a non-aligned political club; it was an attempt to indoctrinate young impressionable minds in the thinking of a political party. We cannot deny that this may open up our children to unnecessary victimisation and presents issues of undue influence, issues which our students can very well do without,” said Green.
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G2K knocks PNPYO"s political clubs in schools suggestion
