Schools must become proactive about drugs

MBOMBELA – Police and social workers have complained about the lack of participation from certain local schools when it comes to educating children about the dangers of drugs.
SANCA Lowveld director, Ms Marina Erasmus, said they receive regular requests from schools in the area to come and speak to children about the dangers of drug abuse. “But there are not enough schools getting involved.” They have to be careful to assess correctly if a learner is in fact an addict or is just going through behavioural problems,” she said.

Hoërskool Bergvlam 

Bergvlam principal Ms Annemarie Kleynhans says the school is constantly following up on all information they receive regarding learners who might be using drugs and or dealers who are trying to sell drugs to their learners. ” We involve the police and Bossies Community Justice in all the cases we have to deal with.

The school does not shy away from this problem at all. There is no sense in closing your eyes to a threat that has become part of our lives. You are not assisting anyone by trying to ignore it. Rather get to the root of the problem and help the child. When the school receives information, the school contacts the parents and the learner gets tested by SANCA.

The school tests learners randomly and the students never know when it will be done.

Learners receive information in the Life Orientation lessons on drugs. The youth mentors at the school also receive training from SANCA on how to identify drugs and the symptoms thereof.

Lowveld High School 

Lowveld High School marketing manager Ms Francina du Plessis says their security company keeps a look out for dealers in the vicinity of the school. They are also very vigilant with break and gate duty. If they have a reasonable suspicion that a learner is using they test the learner. They are aware of this and it does act as a deterrent
The school does not shy away from the drug issue. That is not in the best interest of the children. It is much better to tackle it head on.
A child who tests positive is referred to SANCA for counselling. They also receive support at school from a psychologist, occupational therapist and counselor. The parents are involved in the process. Disciplinary action is taken if the abuse continues or the learner is dealing in drugs or uses drugs on the school property. A school is NOT ALLOWED to expel a learner. Only the HOD for education may do that.
The school does not have random drug checks. They test learners if they have a reasonable suspicion they are using. “We do invite organisations such as the Proactive Education group to address the learners about drugs. Our educators have also attended workshops and are able to inform children about drugs and the dangers thereof.”
This is therefore how they educate their learners- making use of outside speakers as well as ensuring Life Orientation educators are also informed on this issue.
A  key issue with combating drug abuse is trying to ensure that children cherish positive values and see their bodies as a temple of God. This aspect is often neglected in Anti Drug campaigns. Hence their frequent failure. Teenagers who are grounded with a good value system and who fell secure and loved are less likely to engage in drug abuse. It is not the only solution but it must be part of the solution .

Hoërskool Nelspruit, 

Dr Elize Kruger says  Hoërskool Nelspruit is declared a clean and safe zone in the interest of everyone involved and they strive towards keeping the school as a whole clean and safe. This is not only a wish, but a sincere priority and prerequisite for availing their children with maximum learning opportunities and full exposure to healthy education.

“We achieve this by having a clear and effective policy, leading to clear and effective actions. Our first line of defense is being pro-active and showing zero tolerance towards any potential influences that may be detrimental to our children.”

Being a community based school, they are well informed about the fact that they are part of a broad spectrum – ranging from bad to good. “We are therefore level headed about the exposure our children have.”

This leaves us no opportunity but to be aware that children may innocently fall into pitfalls – in which case we are ready to support and to make sure that the child receives the necessary support from other professionals and parents. The school always puts the interest of children above the image of the school and problems arising are dealt with in a confidential way (in the interest of the children), but not in a secretive way to protect the image of the school.

We must support our children against unwanted influences and eradicate unwanted elements. To be informed of such, we maintain the school as a drug-free zone by launching regular inspections for the presence of any harmful elements.

To empower our children, we do not shy away from informing them about the reality of illegal substances and drugs and the consequences that may be suffered by getting involved in it. We have, on occasion, had former drug addicts tell them about the experiences they’ve had – and will do so again in future if and when possible. We also get experts to tell them about ways to prevent themselves from getting involved.

Uplands College  

Uplands College’s media spokesman Ms Val Ross says a time when our students face a variety of felt pressures which, unless provided for, they may seek an escape from; and at a time when access to drugs is widespread and easy to acquire (just google the names of sports enhancing drugs to see the Pandora’s box of illegal substances readily obtainable), our concern for the well-being of our students is qualified and constant.

A preventative approach remains our primary focus. Accordingly, and at Uplands, we remain proactive in ensuring our students are educated as to the reasons for and consequences of drug use, and we ensure we provide a variety of means for our children to feel supported and listened to; drug use is often a last resort to a sense of being alone and out of control. In providing a ready amount of structured care we can motivate a change in direction. These ‘soft’, relationship based systems are proven by:

• Our professional counseling team, which is available to all students;
• Our tutor system, whereby our teaching staff mentor and come to have a deep knowledge of a small group of children under their daily care;
• Our Mentor and Senate programme, in which student leaders identify and feed-up temperature items and areas of concern, and;
• Our commitment to building strong relationships with our parent body, in order to pass on and have reflected at home, our values and culture.

At an academic level we stress knowledge as a pre-cursor to effective choice. Through our Grade 9 and 10 Life Orientation programme we inform learners about legal and illegal substances; about their types, their legality and conditions of safe use, their long and short term physical and psychological effects, and means for rehabilitation. Our learners complete a field trip to the Swartfontein Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre, wherein discussion focusses on commonly used and newly appearing drugs, their effects, how one is admitted to a rehabilitation centre, and what this process entails. The learners also actively engage with those undergoing recovery. The patients tell our learners their story and describe how they see their futures. These personal, and often moving accounts, lend the necessary realism and relevance to inform our students with a sounder judgement and clear sense of consequence.

To our ‘soft’ systems of support, and our educational programme, we equally have ‘hard’ systems in place that both stand as a means of deterrence and, equally, inform likely consequence should guilt be qualified. Sanctions that may come into effect are there to defend our values and ethos, to protect the well-being of all our students and wider community, and to provide a clear educational message to the guilty. The following structures prove our ‘hard’ systems at Uplands:

• Our Code of Conduct, which defines what constitutes drugs and how incidents will be sanctioned.
• Our no tolerance stance to those who bring illegal drugs onto campus.
• A clear disciplinary process in the event of alleged transgression.
• Our affiliation to the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport, and our willingness to utilise their testing protocols should we suspect usage amongst our community.
• A drug testing protocol in accordance with the South African Schools Act.
• Gate controlled access to the campus.

In a complex world of ever changing threat and opportunity, we do not presume to have a student body exempt from drug use. However, as we seek to use educational best practice to help kids thrive, we do choose to offer the information, support structures and systems of care, and the harder yet necessary line of formal guideline and regulation, to ensure we limit the frequency with which this scourge of modern society impacts on our community.