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Drugs at schools: Prevention key
18/02/2002 17:52 - (SA)
Cape Town - South African schools should pursue a policy of prevention rather than punishment when it came to dealing with drug problems among their pupils, the country's education heads have recommended in a new policy document.
Speaking at the end of a council of education ministers meeting at parliament on Monday, Education Minister Kader Asmal said this would now be published for public comment.
"It is based on prevention rather than punishment." He said spot checks and random testing for drugs at schools violated the legal principle of "reasonable cause".
However, if this existed, and there was a reasonable belief that pupils were taking drugs, "then there can be searches".
"But we say the search must be conducted in the presence of an
adult and it must be done by people of the same sex." Asmal said he had been shocked to hear of cases at schools in the United States, where searches of pupils had been carried out by private security firms. They had "used the occasion to grope at women".
The policy made a very clear statement about the unacceptability of drugs and other illegal substances at schools, and proposed firm action - including suspension and expulsion - where necessary.
It also recognised that substance abuse was a complex problem,
and dealing with it should be related to the particular context.
"Drugs have been dealt with from the point of view of prevention and cure, rather than the heavy, ham-fisted way it is sometimes dealt with." In all cases, a supportive response aimed at correcting the problem was encouraged, Asmal said.
Last year, Asmal and his provincial counterparts ruled that
testing for drugs should not take place in public schools until a
national protocol was established.
The decision came after reports of random tests at schools.
- SAPA
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