Schools must be tough to fight drug problems

Schools must be tough to fight drug problems

Simon Marcus Gower, Principal, Harapan Bangsa High School,
Tangerang, Banten

A group of schoolboys sit huddled in a stairwell near to one
of Jakarta's many fast food restaurants. In their early teens,
their uniforms somehow seem more worn and dirty than most school
kids but they have the youthful smiles and laughter of innocent
childhood. Huddled together their excited behavior is what first
draws attention to them.

Their laughter changes noticeably as they realize that they
are being watched. Then as their nervousness gets the better of
them the huddle breaks and opens and the pitiful scene is
revealed.

One of them has a dazed expression and another is quickly
trying to hide something. His efforts to conceal the truth are
not quick enough and it is possible to see that they have been
messing around with drugs.

The time of day at which they were seen suggests that they
were playing truant from school. With no school nearby they have
obviously traveled some distance from their school. Often, the
distance between schools and their students and the potential for
drug abuse is not great. In some Jakarta schools it is common
knowledge among students that drug dealers wait within walking
distance of the school ready and willing to push and sell their
dangerous, illegal substances to unknowing, curious youngsters.

It is extremely regrettable that these drug dealers manage to
infiltrate the lives of school kids but it is equally regrettable
that school and law enforcement authorities are not sufficiently
knowledgeable about these activities and so acting upon and
against them. Some have suggested that both schools and the
police do know of such activities but do not act because they
fear reprisals from gang bosses.

But a get-tough policy on these drug dealers is needed; they
are pushers too and so they may quickly inflict their drug
culture on the youthful school population. Knowledge is clearly
abundant and easily accessed about these drug-dealing activities
but tough action is required in response to this knowledge.

Another experience from Jakarta schools illustrates the
knowledge that exists about the drug problem but again reflects
inactivity. A student registered for a school quite distant from
her home. Effectively, at her parents' insistence, she was to be
a commuting school student. Why should this be so?

Her parents had observed that the schools in their immediate
area had drugs problems. This may have been little more than
rumor but sometimes some truth lies beneath and it was the
parents' belief in this that forced them to choose a distant
school.

However no school can afford to be complacent about the
potential threat of drugs. The consistency with which media
report the apprehension of a drug smuggler at a port of entry
into Indonesia shows how the criminal underworld is willing to
bring such drugs into this country.

Complacency on drugs cannot be allowed on the basis of such
reports either. Every smuggler that is caught is likely to
represent only a percentage of those that are getting through.
Recently Customs Officers in the United States noted that even
though they are improving their rate of capture of smugglers and
seizure of drugs, there is a free-flow of illegal drugs
throughout the U.S. It is more than likely that this experience
is being replicated in Jakarta.

The supply of these volatile and often life threatening drugs
is part of the problem but as much of a part of the problem, and
a critical element of the solution, for drugs abuse is education.
Supply does not exist without demand and demand is only possible
because of the efforts of pushers, the distribution network
created by sellers and a failure of education to counter a drug
culture.

Schools have to be a key part of this education process.
Educating young people of the dangers and foolishness of messing
with drugs. But many schools seem to be ill equipped to provide
such education. Teachers lack understanding of the
problem and so their ability to respond to the threat of drugs
abuse within their school or classroom is limited.

In one school, a student had never been outstanding but he
seemed to be becoming more unruly and unpredictable. His
absenteeism increased and there was concern from the school; but
when he returned there was a relatively complacent acceptance and
he was readmitted to classes.

However, to a person that has some experience with or training
in dealing with drug users, it was quite quickly recognizable
that this student was experimenting with drugs. But his teachers,
when told that the student evidently had a drug problem, were
surprised and some were even shocked.

Their comments: "I thought he was still not feeling well after
being absent"; "When I caught him sleeping in my class, it was
just another example of his laziness." The reality that he was
becoming a drug user was something that his teachers had not been
able to observe.

Drugs are getting into the market and sadly a significant
portion of this market is potentially school kids. Out of a duty
of care and guardianship, schools need to have expertise to
counter the threats of drug abuse. Anti-drug slogans, as have
been widely seen throughout Jakarta, is not enough.

It is increasingly essential that school staff members have
knowledge of drugs and drug problems so that they can educate
students about such matters. Schools also need members of staff
that can recognize the signs of drug use so that they can give
early warnings that a student is at risk and in need of help.

Getting tough on drugs means getting informed and so ready to
take action. Preferably the educative action would be preemptive,
but if that is not possible action should at least constitute
counseling and assistance to overcome the problem.

People are certainly aware of the dangers and potential for
growth in drug abuse. Schools and their staff may need to act
quickly to become "drugs savvy" so that they can truly, and
rightfully, help stop the scourge. Today's youth, in their
innocence, are a target and may be tempted, but if they are
informed they may be able to rebuff this targeting and not be
tempted. Schools can be and should be primary fighters against
the incursion of drug abuse into Indonesian society.