The Ministry of Education will introduce a mandatory community service learning programme to the national curriculum in less than three months when the new school year begins, Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman has told Parliament, as he touted efforts to steer young people away from crime and build stronger civic values.

Blackman argued that prevention must go hand in hand with tougher measures to tackle gun-related offences.

The programme, dubbed 60 at 60, will become a compulsory component of secondary education from September and is intended to help shape responsible and community-minded citizens, he said.