brand logo

Uprooting drugs from the school system

12 Sep 2022

It was reported recently that the use of drugs among schoolchildren and the incidence of schoolchildren undergoing drug-related rehabilitation have risen drastically, and that the Police’s duty in curbing this menace is not being fulfilled properly, as they are allegedly aiding and abetting this racket. To deal with this situation, there is a pressing need to go beyond the standard methods of preventing the same, such as checking schoolchildren’s bags. According to Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) President Priyantha Fernando, drug use among schoolchildren, which was prevalent majorly among urban and semi-urban schools before, has now spread to rural schools.  This issue is not a new one. However, in a context where teachers claim that it is on the rise and drug racketeers are always evolving to continue their trade, the methods of dealing with it should also evolve and expand. Simply checking schoolchildren’s bags is not at all an effective measure, and attention has to be paid to various circumstances that provide an environment for children to use drugs.  First of all, raising awareness on parents’ responsibility in this regard should be a top priority. When it comes to protecting schoolchildren from using drugs, Sri Lankan parents have shown several shortcomings, such as ignorance, lack of attentiveness, and believing that physical punishment is the best or only deterrent they can use, which have affected their responsibilities as parents. What is more, the importance of maintaining healthy parent-children relationships has not received adequate attention. Many parents seem to believe that the obedience of children is a measure of the strength of their relationship, which suppresses proper communication between the two parties and leads to children choosing harmful ways of dealing with their issues, such as drug use. At the same time, anecdotal evidence suggests that a significant share of schoolchildren who tend to use drugs are teenagers who study in Ordinary Level (O/L) and Advanced Level (A/L) classes. In this context, taking into account the biological and sociological changes schoolchildren of this age group are exposed to, it is crucial to pay more attention to schoolchildren’s mental health to prevent their tendency to use drugs. To lessen the number of schoolchildren who may choose drugs when they are unable to deal with the said changes, to discourage schoolchildren from experimenting with drugs due to curiosity or peer pressure, and to assist schoolchildren who are looking for mental or other forms of support to quit using drugs, the authorities could look into strengthening or establishing mental health services within the school system.  While resources may get in the way of these efforts, the school administration would be able to achieve some progress by simply promoting the contact details of mental health and drug rehabilitation services among schoolchildren as a regular practice, which would allow children to seek help by themselves anonymously.  In fact, the said two aspects of this issue may have intensified during the past few months due to the economic crisis and the social crisis it led to, and therefore, they should be considered priorities. What is more, there have been many cases where street vendors and store owners conducting their businesses near schools were apprehended with drugs that were being sold to schoolchildren. Therefore, the law enforcement authorities have a responsibility to monitor these businesses more regularly.  At a time where school education is yet to be fully restored after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis, the importance of ensuring schoolchildren’s wellbeing has been pointed out on many occasions. However, it is high time to do away with the traditional thinking that their wellbeing is based purely on the provision of physical resources, and acknowledge that wellbeing pertains to anything that has an impact on a child.   


More News..