KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Integrity Commission has launched an ‘Integrity Corner’ initiative in four primary and preparatory schools, providing dedicated spaces where students can learn about and actively engage with the principles of honesty, fairness, responsibility and ethical behaviour from an early age.

The initiative, currently being piloted at Alvernia Preparatory and Mona Heights Primary schools in Kingston, as well as McIntosh Memorial Primary and Prattville Primary schools in Manchester, forms part of the commission’s broader corruption prevention and integrity education efforts.

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on September 16, Director of Corruption Prevention, Stakeholder Engagement and Anti-Corruption Strategy at the commission Sashein Wright-Chin described the Integrity Corner as a child-friendly interactive space within the school environment designed to help students explore and express what integrity means in their everyday lives.

According to Wright-Chin, the programme reflects the commission’s belief that building a society grounded in integrity must begin with the development of values during childhood.

“Very often when we talk about corruption, the conversation centres on investigations, prosecutions, laws, sanctions and enforcement. While those measures are important, we must also ask ourselves how we prevent corruption in the first place,” she said.

A key feature of the initiative is its student-driven approach. Each participating school received an Integrity Starter Kit from the commission containing posters, integrity storybooks and other educational resources to support the development of the initiative.

In addition to educational materials supplied by the commission, students contribute their own artwork, posters, messages and creative projects to the Integrity Corner, allowing them to interpret and express the concept of integrity in their own voices.

“We do not want integrity to be something that is simply taught to children. We want them to engage with it, think about it and express it for themselves,” Wright-Chin explained.

The initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, which has supported its introduction within participating schools and helped to ensure the programme is appropriate for the school environment.

Senior Education Officer, Core Curriculum Unit in the Ministry Marlon Williams, who also addressed the Think Tank, said there was no hesitation on the part of the ministry in partnering with the Integrity Commission on this initiative.

“When the Integrity Commission reached out to the ministry almost a year ago, we did not think twice about the partnership. At the ministry we are not just concerned about teaching the subjects; we are concerned about developing the whole child. And so we saw it as an opportunity because what the Integrity Commission introduced is actually reinforcing some of the principles that we are teaching at the ministry,” Williams said.

“Ultimately, this is about prevention. If we want to change attitudes towards corruption over the long term, we must invest in shaping values from an early age. We want integrity to become not simply something our children hear about but something they understand, practise and live,” Wright-Chin said.

— JIS