Drug testing in schools is being considered but will require parental consent, Education Minister Aseri Radrodro told Parliament yesterday.
The minister was responding to Opposition MP Premila Kumar, who asked whether testing could be introduced “so that that particular child can be pulled out, counselled better with the parents … before that child influences many others into drugs”.
Mr Radrodro said the matter was “a work in progress before we implement this in the school vicinity”.
Earlier, Opposition MP Hem Chand had asked what steps were being taken to monitor drug trafficking in schools.
Mr Radrodro said the ministry was working closely with the National Substance Abuse and Advisory Council and the Fiji Police Narcotics Unit to train teachers and heads of schools to identify signs of substance abuse.
“They have the Standard Operating Procedures in place, in which teachers and heads of schools have been trained, including physical indicators of substance abuse and drug trafficking in school,” he said.
He highlighted the installation of CCTV cameras in 46 primary and 30 secondary schools, along with leadership training for 928 students.
With the trafficking of drugs in schools becoming a growing concern, Mr Radrodro said the problem “is not only related to the concern of the Ministry of Education, it is also a concern of the vanua … as fathers, mothers and
grandparents of our children in school, that we should all take responsibilities in trying to monitor and address drug trafficking in school”.
