The revelation that 3627 students were involved in drug-related cases last year is a major wake-up call for us all! In fact we should be very concerned!
According to Education Minister Aseri Radrodro, this accounted for 1.7 per cent of the total school population!
While there may be people out there who would consider this a small percentage, we reflect on young lives at risk, families impacted negatively, and we raise concerns about our future.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Radrodro said the ministry was concerned about the rising trend in drug-related incidents, bullying, truancy and other social issues affecting school students across the country.
“While only 1.7 per cent of the students are involved in drug related incidents, mainly involving tobacco products like suki and cigarettes, the ministry remains concerned about the raising trend from 2020 to 2023, with 3627 cases in 2023,” Mr Radrodro said.
In the face of that, we raise the issue of what may be seen as a creeping normalisation of drug use by our youth. Now that’s dangerous!
These issues reflect what we are struggling with as a nation, especially as we strive to protect our children.
Understandably, we need to be looking at harmful influences and consider what may be misguided choices by our youth.
And the fact is these aren’t isolated issues as well!
They are interconnected!
So what can we do as a nation?
We must be united! We need that united front to combat this!
Let’s focus on education and awareness as the heart of our national response.
Let’s face it, knowledge is a powerful tool, and we need to be wielding early and effectively, to build a strong foundation of resilience in our children.
Let’s encourage our students to learn about the dangers of drugs and let’s empower them with the critical thinking skills to resist peer pressure, misinformation, and the allure of harmful substances.
That will mean engagement.
It will mean integrating various responses and training, from health education, emotional intelligence, and life skills training.
The key is accepting that we may have a massive challenge before us which we need to urgently address.
The battle has to be focused around cutting off the frightening consequence of students making the transition to illicit hard drugs in the future! We already have a growing number of youths addicted to methamphetamine for instance! Our HIV numbers are on the rise and a significant percentage of this is connected to the sharing of needles by drug addicts!
So, we say, as many people as possible need to be leading by example in this war against drugs!
