Topic 4: Responsible Citizenship - Civics Notes Form 1

Topic 4: Responsible Citizenship – Civics Notes Form 1

Welcome to our website scholars.co.tz. In this article, are you looking for Topic 4: Responsible Citizenship – Civics Notes Form 1, Civics notes form one topic 4 Responsible citizenship pdf download

THE CONCEPT OF CITIZENSHIP

A Citizen: Is a person who has the rights to belong to a particular country.

Citizenship: Is a state of being a citizen of a particular country.

A citizen of a country is expected to be loyal, fulfils his/her duties and patriotic to his/her country.

TYPES OF CITIZENSHIP

There are four types of citizenship, these are:

  1. Citizenship by birth

Means a citizen who born to parents who are citizens of that country. For example a citizen who is born in Tanzania by parents who are Tanzanians is a citizen of Tanzania.

  1. Citizenship by naturalization/registration

Is the citizenship which involves applying to the ministry responsible for citizenship in order to acquire citizenship. For example a foreign woman who marries a citizen of Tanzania may register for citizenship.

A person register or applying for citizenship in Tanzania must fulfill the following conditions:

  • He/she must be a person of good behavior
  • He/she must have lived in the country for at least five years
  • He/she must be 21 years old or above
  • He/she must renounce his/her former citizenship
  1. Citizenship by Descent

Is a citizen who is born in a particular country and one of his/her parent is a citizen of that country.

OR

Is a person who is born outside the country and one of his/her parent is a citizen of that country. For example, one is born outside Tanzania and one of hi/her parent is a citizen of Tanzania, is said to be a descent citizen.

  1. Citizenship by Marriage

A foreign woman who marries a citizen of Tanzania may register for citizenship.

IMPORTANCE OF CITIZENSHIP

1. A person gain legitimacy to make decisions in the country

2. It allows a person to participate in civic activities, such as voting

2. Enables a person to get services which are granted to citizens only

3. Enables a person to exercise his/her legal rights in the country

4. A country gets revenue from its citizens through taxes paid by them.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A CITIZEN

Responsibilities: are things a person has to perform as a rule. Such responsibilities can be put into four categories: political, social, personal and economic responsibilities.

1:  Personal responsibilities

A good citizen is one who:

  • Takes care of himself/herself
  • Behaves in a civil or respectful manner
  • Consider the rights and interest of others
  • Support the family

2:  Economic responsibilities

  • Payment of taxes to the government
  • Do the lawful productive work
  • Participate in community development activities

3: Social responsibilities

  • Protect his/her country from its enemies
  • Promote fairness, equality and social justice
  • Respect the rights of fellow citizens
  • Obey the laws of the country
  • Help disabled people
  • To promote education and health services

4: Political responsibilities

  • Participate in the country’s civic affairs such as attending political meetings
  • Take part in elections
  • Help to develop public policy
  • Being ready to defend one’s nation
  • Contesting for leadership positions at local or national level

Responsible Citizenship – Civics Form One

IMPORTANCE OF FULFILLING INDIVIDUAL AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Peace and security will prevail in the country

2. The rate of crime is reduced

3. The rights of the people are respected

4. People will be involved fully in social, political and economic activities.

DANGERS OF NOT FULILLING ONE’S RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Lack of respect by the family and nation

2. An increase in social evils and crimes e.g. killing, stealing and banditry

3. It contributes to the underdevelopment of nation

4. One cannot claim for his/her rights

RESPONSIBILITIES TO SPECIAL GROUP

Special groups are people who need special care for various reasons. Such people should not be neglected.

The following are some of special groups:-

  1. The elderly

These are old people. As people age, they become less energetic and may not be able to work as well as young people.

  1. Street children

Is a group of children who stay on the street as they have no place to live.

This could be caused by various reasons such as poverty, death of parents or guardians, abuse of parents, family break-ups etc.

  1. People living with HIV/AIDS

These are people who are infected with the Human Immune Deficiency Virus. This group is stigmatized by some members of the society. Responsible citizens should support such people by providing them with love, food, clothes and medicine.

  1. Refugees

Are people who flee their countries to go and settle in foreign countries because of insecurity in their home countries.

The following are some reasons for refugees:-

  • Political conflicts
  • Civil wars
  • Social conflicts
  • Drought and famine
  • Religious conflicts.

Refugees lack things like proper education, food, proper housing, and their families are also separated. Tanzania has refugees from Congo DRC, Rwanda and Burundi.

  1. People with disabilities or Handicapped

These are people with reduced function of particular body organs and therefore they are limited in what they can do. Example of these people are deaf people, blind people, people with mental disabilities and physically disabled persons.

People may help them to perform some jobs, loving them and showing them respect and appreciations with good thing they do.

  1. Women and children

This group of people is ignored in some communities. They are not given equal opportunities to participate in decision making in their families or at higher levels. They also suffer from rape, female genital mutilation and forced marriage.

Children; these are human beings who are below five years of age. They are unable to support themselves in terms of all their basic social services. They need special attention from parents and the community in order for them to survive.

The need of the special groups

1. Old people; they require basic needs like clothes, shelter, health services, food, water and general care.

2. Street children; they need education, health services, water, clothes, shelter, vocational training, counseling and protection. The government and the society must ensure that these children are raised in a manner in which they become responsible citizens.

3. People living with HIV/AIDS; these people need love, counseling, a balanced diet, medicine and socialization.

4. Refugees; needs education, food, shelter, clothing, water, health services and proper security.

5. People with various disabilities; these needs special education, health care, food and shelter. They also need to be treated just like normal people and given equal opportunities. E.g. employment.

6. Women and children; need to be treated fairly and to be given opportunities in the society. They need education to support their lives.

Responsibilities towards special groups

The duties of a good citizen towards people with special needs include:

1. Assisting these people by providing material and financial help

2. Interacting with them

3. Showing them respect and understanding

4. Providing education

5. Supporting them physically, e.g. when they are crossing the roads

6. Providing counseling and socialization.

Tags: