QUEENSBURGH High School pupils turned out in numbers on Dipdale Road on Friday 21 August, in protest against drug abuse and to send a message that the school has a zero tolerance policy towards drugs.
This initiative comes from the governing body of the school and is driven by the teachers and pupils and is chaired by the deputy principal, Marthinus Myburgh, who said parents as well as the Malvern SAPS and Metro Police strongly supported it too.
“Our motto is ‘Queensburgh High School says no to drugs and I am drug free’. And we are pleased to say that no one in the school is doing drugs currently. Because of our strong no drugs policy, if a learner is caught doing drugs the standard procedure is that the learner goes to rehab and seeks counselling and treatment,” said Myburgh. He added that the school has had incidents where learners were caught with or under the influence of drugs with some of those learners facing expulsion.
The march began on the school premises all the way to the park on Bouwker Road, where many people have been caught taking drugs. The school reserves the right to drug test a learner suspected to be under the influence without the parent’s consent. The school prides itself on being among other schools in Durban to be proactive in combating abuse, keeps drug testing kits to ensure that their fight is successful.