THE GOVERNMENT AS AGENT OF MORALITY

The instituted authorities of government - legislative, executive and judiciary; are useful agents of morality with regards to their constituted authority. The government uses these organs as agencies of articulation, teaching and enforcement of morality in the society. The legislature makes laws on behalf of the government in order to ensure their ordinances governing a given society. The executive arm of government in form of the Police Force, government ministries, etc. is used to implement and enforce the laws made by the legislature. The judiciary as an organ of government is enshrined with the constitutional authority to interpret the laws made by the legislature and the executive then brings defaulters of the law before the judiciary for necessary disciplinary actions to be taken on them through the law court. All these organs of instituted constitutional authority work in collaboration to ensure the society over which they preside is organized and its citizens are morally upright by obeying the laws of that nation. google.com, pub-7820813838927254, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 MAINTAINING MORAL STANDARDS IN THESOCIETY Apriori as a divine agent of intelligence, teaches an individual by intuition. The home & family is the citadel and cradle of basic education. The kindred where one hails from and the elders of the society ensure that law and order are maintained at the village/local level. Traditional institutions like the Age Grades, Married Daughters, Masquerades, etc; enforce morality and ensures a socially upright society in specific traditional ways. The schools from basic to tertiary levels teach and inculcate moral values through formal education to the younger generation. Religious institutions like the churches and mosques, alongside other spiritual bodies teach and preach morality; by living out exemplary lives and melting out appropriate sanctions on disobedient followers of the various movements. The government as an agent of morality through its numerous agencies of public administration; such as: the law courts, police force, government ministries, armed forces, etc. articulate, teach and enforce morality in the society.

SCHOOLS AS SOURCE OF MORAL VALUES

The purpose of schooling is the transmission of culture, the process by which the culture of a society is passed on to the generations. It is a place where individuals learn more about their culture; acquire-knowledge, beliefs, values, and norms. Societies have seen the development of institutions that assist in the transmission of moral values, such as family, school, religion, mass media, peer group, etc. Contemporary society has developed and established three (3) main agents of morality, which have served to promote it. The three (3) traditional agents that have consistently promoted morality in the society have been the family, the church, and the school, these traditional institutions support continuity of thought, morals, values, and other tenets the culture considers important. The school is an agent responsible for promoting morality among groups of children and young people on relevant moral values in a society. As the most stable and formal moral agent, the school is expected to both train the individual for both practical occupations and skills; and to provide the individual with basic moral values, like loyalty to one1 s country, politeness to elders, etc. Therefore, the school exercises strategic power relations means and as an end to teach conformity, and in so doing sc' students learn to become moral agents in its service, while learn to oppose it. google.com, pub-7820813838927254, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 google.com, pub-7820813838927254, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 The school system has become the glue that holds soc e: together. The school system responds to society's needs complies with society's demands, for trained workers, intellectual citizens, and well-educated and morally-oriented citizens; the system has always operated within specific parameters, and has been charged with the task of promoting moral conformity. Today's society expects the school system to teach students skids, such as drug awareness, conflict resolution, and sex education; all within the confines of set parameters imposed by today's society's conflicting values, diverse morals, and emerging norms. The school has to provide total education, - education for knowledge, for skills, for understanding, for culture, for making a contribution, for a sense of belonging, for attitudes and for a proper orientation to the modern world. Moreover, with the coming in of democracy, universal education has not only become a necessity in the modern world, but also, an accepted moral ideal. So, the school is required to discharge very important functions in modern society. Institutions of School 1. Thorough Education of The Society: One of the most important functions of school are to maintain the continuity of social and moral education by handing over traditions, experiences, values and customs of the society; from one generation to the other. The progress of the society depends upon the transmission of knowledge and skills from one generation to the next. These important functions are faithfully and efficiently performed by the school. 2. Promotion of Morality, Culture and Civilization: The school not only transmits the cultural heritage to the rising generation, it also helps to promote morality, culture and civilization. 3. Total Development of Individuals: The functions and responsibilities of schools have increased multi-dimensionally. The function is not only the transmission of academic knowledge but also, comprehensively indoctrinate the students with morally upright attitudes, and the school has to assume a more comprehensive roles, in the all-round development of the individual. Now, the school aims at developing the whole personality of the child. Education is now defined as all-round development of the personality of the child, physically, intellectually, morally, socially and spiritually. Through its curricular and extra-curricular activities, the child not only acquires knowledge, but also develops the requisite habits, skills and attitudes. 4. Promotion of Social Efficiency: To lead a successful life in the modern society the individuals must acquire social efficiency. In a democratic society, children must be trained in a democratic way of life through education and the school programmes must be planned accordingly. Training for effective participation in a democratic society and cultivation of a planned sense of rights and duties are important functions of the school. This is done by the school by having a clear concept of democratic ideals, and directing the educational programmes accordingly. 5. Adjustability of Society: We send children to school to learn in a systematic way the occupations which constitute living and the school has a direct responsibility of preparing the individual child for post-school adjustments. A child spends a period of his life in school, after completing his school education; he is expected to adjust himself in the society outside the school to the best of his ability and capacity. If this adjustment is proper, the school has succeeded in its aims and objectives. So, one of the main functions of the school is to turn out of its portals, young men and women so that they may adjust themselves properly and usefully and lead successful lives in private, public and professional levels. 6. Introduction of Higher Values of Life: No progress of education is complete without the inculcation of higher values of life into the pupils. Moral and religious education which was formerly imparted by the families and the churches is now also the responsibility of the school. So long as the social, economic and democratic ideas, of the school is also to develop moral sense of the children, so that they may be able to distinguish between right and wrong, virtue and vice, and act upon the right and moral path of action; school education must develop in the children the moral, spiritual and higher values of life.