Many people think that universities should teach students about moral values and ethics, while others say that it is the primary responsibility of the parents. In my view, parents and universities should share the responsibility in character development, although parents have more responsibility because children start learning morals and good behavior from home.
Why universities should teach students about ethics? First, many hours of people’s life are spent in educational institutions, and there students meet people from different social and cultural environments. Thus, universities may influence students by fostering honesty, discipline, cooperation, and respect through discussion and various other university activities. Second, ethics is very important for professional success in many areas, such as medicine, business, and engineering. Otherwise, people may become highly successful professionals but unethical people in society.
Yet, others believe that parents should be the first teachers of morality. Through communication and guidance, parents teach their kids some important moral values and traits of character. Traits of compassion, empathy, and honesty are always developed from childhood. Without such upbringing, colleges may find it hard to make their kids behave differently in future life.
To sum up, while colleges can help develop certain moral principles in students, parents must be considered the main moral teachers anyway. Only when both families and educational institutions cooperate, kids will learn to become responsible citizens.