The Role of Ethics Education in the Fight Against Corruption

Abstract

Education has an integral role to inculcate morality in learners. It is expected that education should produce responsible persons who can be trusted in promoting the well-being of society. An educated individual according to Julius Nyerere is one who is ready to serve the masses, realize and recognize themselves as being part of the society. The current world requires education that can make its citizens grow into morally responsible individuals whose actions promote justice in society. Bearing in mind that unless corruption is eliminated within and through the education system, society will continue to be captive of corruption. Society today, has overlooked the prime duty of imparting knowledge of morals into its citizens. This has however resulted into the growth of citizens whose morals are in question. Ethics plays a vital role in education since it acts as a basis of identifying the wrong and right and the training of the human will to pursue what is right. Corruption is a wrong doing that can be dealt with when people come into agreement and understanding of their place, place of others and the reasons for respecting every individual’s capabilities (need to address the common good. i.e. resources, public office, public funds). Individuals with deeper understanding of morality tend to uphold transparency and accountability. Such individuals shun away from acts of corruption since they know and understand the consequences of every action they partake. Schools therefore have a responsibility of ensuring that all students who undergo the education processes are morally equipped with knowledge and skills of the do’s and don’ts. This paper therefore aims at examining the place of ethics in secondary school education and the extent to which education ought to contribute towards the war against corruption in Africa.