Schools need strong policies on drugs to protect young people

Simon Marcus Gower, Jakarta

It seems a sad but unfortunately an increasing sight on the streets of Jakarta to see teenagers and even younger children wearing school uniforms and smoking cigarettes. Quite usually in groups, it is evident that no small amount of peer pressure must be at play in these children's minds to make them want to smoke.

Girls as well as boys are out there smoking and children as young as junior high age can be seen puffing away on cigarettes. This has to be a concern. For adults the smoking habit is not good news but for still growing children the situation must be gravely concerning. In a city such as Jakarta air quality is always a problem with such huge amounts of pollution and yet many, many children are choosing to directly suck smoke into their lungs.

Such a habit in the young might seem senseless but evidently it is a habit for many. Many are effectively addicted to smoking before they have even reached an age where they might be able to make mature and informed choices. But this is clearly where guidance and counseling must come in to assist the young and learning.

This, then, highlights a key area that schools need to get involved in. Schools cannot just think of themselves as places where students study academically. Schools have a vital social role and increasingly a part of this "social role" is, in partnership with parents, to help young people to protect themselves from the dangers and harm that may be caused by illegal drugs, tobacco and other addictive substances.

Schools have a key role in educating children and raising their awareness of the damaging health consequences of drug use. This can be done particularly effectively by the use of real life stories of young people who have been through the harrowing experiences of drugs.

But in addition schools need to be ready and staffed to respond to drug related issues. For example it is critical that schools are able to assist in the identification and support of any student that may have a drug problem. Sometimes it is possible to see schools that are woefully inadequate in their staff and provision for drugs problems.

One school student, (who had fallen in with the wrong crowd, had become the victim of a pusher and so was quickly falling into a threatening habit), was foolishly set aside as a student that was "just not managing to keep up with his school work" and was essentially labeled as "a lazy student". His tardiness, absence and disheveled appearance when he did arrive at school were mistakenly seen as confirming the school's beliefs about him.

However, it was his parents and brothers that effectively came to his rescue and identified the problem. The school here had in essence failed, "dropped the ball" and the student was allowed to go far too far down the road towards a devastating drug problem.

So how can schools avoid "dropping the ball"? It would be entirely foolish and inadequate to complacently think and say that "we don't have a drugs problem here" because it has been proven that such an attitude allows the problems to fester and grow undetected and so inevitably be far more difficult to tackle later on.

In the United States for example there was for quite some time a denial of the problem that allowed it to grow, so much so in fact that estimates now suggest that over fifty percent of high school students and around thirty percent of middle school students know where and to whom to go to buy illegal drugs and often the people that they buy them from are fellow students.

Other statistics from the US are equally alarming and should be a warning to Indonesia as to the direction that could be followed unless caution and care is taken. It is estimated that around seventy-five percent of US students have smoked before they graduate and around fifty percent have smoked marijuana. A further thirty percent have used other illegal drugs.

It is critical then that schools have policies that they can actively implement to reduce the dangers facing young people. These would include the use of searches, drugs testing procedures, counseling and referral to appropriate support agencies where necessary and a consistent and considered program of drugs education as part of the schools general health education curriculum.

Some of these measures may seem strong, even heavy-handed, but that may be what is right and appropriate. A major concern and potential problem such as the issue of drugs and addictions generally has to be dealt with in a firm but fair way. Even small amounts of drugs use can ruin futures and severely disrupt and damage the life of a school.

Measures to address drug related matters, then, need to be handled with a firm but steady hand. A draconian application of rules with immediate expulsions may not always be most effective and is certainly less likely to be instructive and assisting in developing understanding and knowledge.

Likewise, efforts such as searches need to be handled with care. It is important that sufficient grounds for searches be established and understood and that such searches are not too intrusive as to represent an unacceptable invasion of privacy. For example during one such search a teacher chose to open a student's personal journal; this was too intrusive and ultimately offensive.

Schools do, though, very distinctly need policy on drugs. Such policy should be very inclusive so that teachers, parents and students are aware of it and reasonably familiar with what is expected and to be expected. School drugs policy can then be an addition to a general code of conduct for the school.

Also, teachers and students should be aware of the procedures that apply to such policy. This would include search procedures but may also include procedures in the event of an emergency -- such as a medical emergency caused by a student's consumption of a drug.

Perhaps, though, the greatest concern and need is when it comes to having a support staff that is trained and able to counsel students. Such a team would include guidance teachers/ counselors, school psychologist, management staff and perhaps even a representative from a drug rehab center.

Drug education programs are an ongoing necessity; a necessity for both teachers and students alike. For example one teacher when queried about smoking students practically laughed it off with a "forget about it" attitude of "well most Indonesian men do smoke". Complacency such as this is misplaced and practically dangerous.

The writer is an education consultant.