The Ministry of Education on Tuesday concluded a two-day Drug Prevention Education Training exercise that was held for teachers and welfare officers from Georgetown.
The two-day exercise, held at the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) auditorium, was a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Education’s Schools’ Welfare Service, the Ministry of Health, the Salvation Army and the Schools’ Health Unit.
Chief Schools’ Welfare Officer Gillian Vyphuis said the programme was needed because of the social issues being encountered in schools and the resulting challenges facing the teachers and welfare officers. The overall percentage of drug use in schools is 5 %. “We also recognise that children are using drugs and alcohol in school and they are the ones taking it into our school system,” she said, before pointing out that some of these children are struggling. “So, we decided to come together and have this programme with teachers on board,” she added, while noting that teachers would be trained to be able to return to their schools and help the students in some form and also disseminate the information to other teachers so they can assist with the sustainability of the programme.
Vyphuis added that the Ministry of Education and its partners are also going to set up a referral system so if these teachers at any time recognise that children need help, they can be referred to the appropriate systems and they will make the further necessary decision if needed.
Currently, children found with drugs are referred to the anti-narcotics unit and actions that are taken are based on the amounts found.
According to a teacher from the David Rose Special School, who was a participant in the programme, the training was very beneficial. She added that with all the knowledge she has gained, she will be going back to her school and educating her students, especially the teenagers, about all she has learnt, including the causes and effects of drug use.
In addition, Education Ministry Senior Guidance Counselor Mercylene Moses said that in many instances parents are not aware of a lot of things when it comes to their children and she strongly believes that they need to create a receptive atmosphere.
