We need to look at our ethical standards – professional ethics lecturer

Paige Benton writes:

I am a lecturer in professional ethics and I mainly teach aspiring accountants and auditors.

Something I have seen lately is complacency among the youth with our political situation and a lowering of their ethical and moral standards. Obviously, this is something we should be concerned about.

Young people have resigned themselves politically, feeling that they are unable to change the situation. This leads to their lack of wanting to vote, though it is only through active democracy that the political situation can change. We have a big election next year I hope the youth will realise this.

There are no ethical standards among some and we see that in state capture and a general turn toward crime and corruption. The youth see what leaders do, and feel they also need to do whatever they can to look after themselves, and do not consider the consequences for others, or if it is morally right.

We can fix these attitudes at the university and school level. It is up to education to step in and I recognise the role I can play in this.

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