BRUNEI-MUARA

A TOTAL of 87 students of Years Nine and 10 nationwide joined a camp dubbed “Kem Untuk Mu Amalkan Tia” (UMAT) yesterday at the Berakas National Forest Reserve yesterday.

The event organised by the Department of School’s Counselling and Careers Section (DSCCS) was attended by the senior special duty officer at the Schools Department, Hj Aziz Hj Nayan.

The opening ceremony started with welcome remarks from the acting director of DSCCS, Ali Yusri Abd Ghafor.

Separately, Ali Yusri told_ The Brunei Times _that the camp was meant to train students to become responsible towards their education.

“The students will be staying for four days and three nights. The aim of this camp is to give the opportunity to these students to do physical activities as well as to train them mentally,” said Ali Yusri.

He went on to say that some of the chosen participants were problem students. “There are some participants have problems with their attendance and feeling demotivated with studies. By having group-sharing sessions with other participants, we hope it can inspire them.

Beside counselling sessions, the participants will also be trained in leadership skills. “It is important for students to have leadership skills. We need to train our youth earlier, so that in higher institutions, they don’t have to start from scratch.”

Meanwhile, Ali Yusri also spoke about parents saying their children were not selected for these type of events.

“We need to do this campaign one step at a time. We need to clear the problem students first as well as provide a training session for the Peer Guidance Group.

“After this camp, the participants will tell other students about the activities and also the excitement. This will be an indirect teaching for non-participants as well,” said the counsellor.

The organisers also invited other government agencies such as Health Promotion Centre, Royal Brunei Police Force, Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport and Islamic Da’wah Centre to give talks on specific issues related to the youth.

The Brunei Times