No one has any really reliable idea as to just how serious the problem of the use of drugs by schoolchildren and in schools really is. We know that there are intermittent revelations of drug use and drug distribution in some secondary schools in Georgetown. But that is all we really know, officially, that is. Quite a few children who attend a few of the schools where there have been reports of drugs (predominantly though not exclusively, ecstasy)) distribution have told us that the practice is commonplace and that there is no serious evidence of any official policy aimed at its eradication. A hue and cry is raised, they say, when those discoveries that are made cannot be contained between the school and the Ministry of Education. Otherwise, the practice simply persists, individual incidents coming and going quickly.
It may well be that there is something that we are missing here; that, perhaps, over time, the authorities – the Ministry of Education, the Police, the Social Services, Parent-Teacher Associations etc. – are quietly erecting some sort of ring fence around school system that will one day be robust enough to keep the drug menace at bay. Well if they are, perhaps they need to be reminded that while they are conceptualizing and crafting their ‘magic circle,’ the horses are bolting at a worrying rate. There is too, the matter of the public as a whole being kept completely in the dark as to just what is being done to tackle the problem.
The Ministry of Education has not, historically, been in the habit of making public statements on drugs in schools and amongst schoolchildren and whether or not any work is being done behind the scenes to tackle the problem seriously. Teachers, including Heads of Schools, never venture ‘on the record’ on the issue. Those that we have spoken to, however, (and there have been quite a few) are usually frank and open on the issue. They make several points, one of those being that to a greater or lesser extent, drug use has become a habit in many school-age children. The attendant point that they make here is that cultivation of the habit is mostly external to the school itself. In other words, many children bring their drug use habits from what one teacher described as their “other social settings” and succeed in influencing larger groups from amongst the school population to become users.
Another point that has been made to us by some teachers is that even in instances where drug use is suspected by teachers intervention carries with it certain risks since the children can, either themselves or through third parties, inflict reprisals. This suggests that the distribution of drugs in schools is linked to wider adult gangs that also operate outside of the school system and which embrace intimidation as part of their modus operandi. Here, the wider argument tends to be that teachers are not, themselves, suitably qualified/equipped to deal with drug-peddling and use in schools and believe that to ask them to assume that responsibility is to put them at personal risk.
The broader question that arises here, of course, is whether there is not, at this stage, more than sufficient justification for the authorities to hammer out, make public and seek to rigidly implement a drugs in schools policy that addresses drug use among schoolchildren and official responses thereto, that is attended by a policy of the strictest possible enforcement.
Some respondents to the idea of the creation and strict implementation of a policy on drugs and drug use in schools may well throw in the ‘caution’ that any attempt to do so runs the risk of turning schools into high-security institutions. That may be so to some extent but if the feedback that we have been receiving from both teachers and students in recent years is anything to go by, the use of drugs by schoolchildren and in schools is still as prevalent as ever and may even be growing worse and perhaps more worryingly, there exists no serious defence mechanism to check the menace at this time.
Schools, we believe, will be better able to prevent and manage drug related incidents when they are equipped with clear rules and consequences for use or possession of drugs at school which rules are afforded a suitably high profile and when, critically, they are able to effectively disseminate that policy to both children and parents and secure the cooperation of the latter, particularly, in the fight for eradication. Contextually, school administrators (Heads of Schools) must, as a matter of part of their professional duties, ensure that the overall Disciplinary Code or school rules prominently reflect government’s policy on drugs.
But there is much more that the Ministry of Education and the school community can do to help tackle drug use problems amongst schoolchildren. There is really no good reason why curriculum and student welfare strategies cannot help to strengthen protective factors and minimize those risk factors known to be associated with drug use by young people. Those protective factors include a sense of belonging to school or other societal institutions and having close relationships with parents, teachers and other mentors that can provide guidance and emotional support. There could also be considerable value in the creation of in-school peer groups which, as part of their wider pursuits, actively and aggressively discourages drug use.
In a society such as ours, where, unfortunately, drug use is not only prevalent but is also widely condoned and encouraged, children and young people need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe. In circumstances where, for example, the use of alcohol is prevalent, an approach which promotes abstinence is a useful strategy given the proportion of adolescents who engage in some form of experimentation with drugs that is linked to alcohol use. Drugs education initiatives are more likely to be effective when they are part of what the experts describe as “a comprehensive whole school approach” to the execution of the health and wellness aspects of the curriculum. There may well be much merit to commencing drug education well before young people are likely to face situations in which they are confronted with making drug use-related decisions and long before behaviour patterns have become established.
An effective drug education programme (which is sorely missing in our schools at this time) will help students to understand the complex issues involved in drug use including ongoing information about drugs and their effects. That knowledge is likely to help them to develop the skills that will enable them to assertively communicate “no” to offers of drug use. Those young people, particularly schoolchildren, who have already begun to use drugs need strong safety messages about risks and how to reduce them.
Close relationships between schools and key community agencies will doubtless strengthen the school’s capacity to respond to drug-related issues and reinforce the notion of community ‘ownership’ of drug issues. We are uncertain as to whether and/or the extent to which our schools possess those links. There is every reason why schools should establish proactive relationships with community agencies that provide support services to school age members of communities. In this regard, police liaison services may be valuable contacts for schools responding to a drug-related incident. In secondary schools, particularly, School Liaison Police Officers should also be available to work with the school on a range of intervention strategies.
Frankly, we believe that the Ministry of Education, working perhaps with the support of local specialist individuals and institutions and perhaps with specialized consultancy support, can fashion and implement a policy that would help protect schools against the menace. It is the will, it seems, that has historically been in question.
