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LU/AS 6.2.8 |
DRUG TESTING AT SCHOOLS WELCOMED
Cathy Retief-Nel
The new national drug testing policy, currently in the pipeline, has been welcomed by schools and parents in the Helderberg.
The National Department of Education’s Education 2000 Plus report showed that drugs, especially dagga and Mandrax and to a lesser extent cocaine, were easily accessible to learners.
The report showed that 55 percent of learners knew someone who was using dagga or drug substitutes such as glue.
Learners said drugs were available to them in their own homes, or alternatively, there was always somewhere nearby where you could buy drugs. Hawkers selling food at the gates to schools also sold drugs.
In the Western Cape, the problem that can be described as a crisis, has prompted principals of many schools, among them the most prestigious private schools, to conduct random drug-screening.
Education Minister Kader Asmal placed a moratorium on drug testing at schools, saying, “…the process constitutes a violation of children’s rights”.
Sarah Fisher, head of the Cape Town drug and alcohol education programme (Bridges, based in Somerset West) said studies showed primary learners were drinking heavily and experimenting with dagga, slimming pills and, in some instances, cocaine.
The WCED has developed an education model for dealing with learners at risk. John Smith, headmaster of Princetown High said: “Should a learner’s behaviour, appearance, schoolwork or general attitude change notably, teachers will write their comments in a book and when we feel there is cause for concern, we will act.”
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