Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high school programmes (for example working for a charity, improving the neighbourhood or teaching sports to younger children). To what extent do you agree or disagree?

In our modern educational system, the idea of mandating volunteering in the curriculum is becoming more popular. Experts hold

this

notion to be beneficial to

students

as they can enhance their personal

skills

.

Additionally

, despite having a few demerits, it is deemed to be helpful to society as a whole. I opine that compulsory

community

work

is an exceptionally superb idea.

Although

one can argue that educational institutions must aim to enhance pupils’ academic performances, nowadays, it is not unusual for

students

to exceed in their academic life, while lacking in communication and social

skills

. Meanwhile, when a student chooses to volunteer some of his time in unpaid

community

work

, he is given the chance to meet his

community

members from different backgrounds and age groups;

thus

it improves his interpersonal

skills

.

Moreover

, if

students

help to maintain their neighbourhoods, they would acknowledge the effort

that is

needed to keep public facilities clean and usable.

This

realization / knowledge will indeed reduce the chance of committing acts of vandalism later in their lives, and promote a sense of ownership of public infrastructures.

Thus

, volunteering improves

students

’

skills

and comprehension.

In addition

to the aforementioned merits, compulsory

community

work

could bring about a more enhanced environment and social support in a

community

. Local authorities and non-profit organizations would receive volunteers / free workforce, which would let those organizations provide better services to the public.

For instance

, a report released by the University of Toronto showed that in the year 2020, nearly all of the abandoned plastic bottles in the Toronto coastal area had been cleaned by volunteers, which saved a tremendous amount of money for the Toronto municipality and preserved our habitat.

Thus

, if all the

students

volunteer some of their time, the public will receive extraordinary benefits. To sum up, mandatory

community

work

will not only assist our youth to improve their personal abilities and

skills

but

also

prove advantageous for the public as a whole. I believe

this

idea must become part of any school’s curriculum;

however

, I suggest, more research and study are still needed to determine the extent of these volunteering opportunities.