Drug tests sure means to curb school unrest

The unfinished business from last year is the student unrest that disrupted learning in many schools.

Dormitories and other school buildings were razed in arson attacks that point to much more than mere protests by learners. The students know only too well that their parents will have to pay stiff penalties for the replacement or repair of the buildings but still go ahead to burn them.

It is noteworthy that the school administration, local administrators and police have worked hard to tame the menace. Some students have been arraigned over the burning of their dormitories. It is important that they are quickly tried and, if found to have been involved in the destruction of property, severely punished. Such deterrent action is long overdue.

Drug and substance abuse are a key factor in student unrest. The young criminals damage facilities put up for their own use, mostly under the influence of hard drugs or in the grip of alcohol addiction. Drugs are a major problem among teenagers. The irrational behaviour stems from substance abuse.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has, from the last quarter of 2021, had his hands full with his portfolio under siege from the arson attacks and other forms of indiscipline in secondary schools. This is why he supports the mandatory drug tests ahead of the reopening of schools.

Maranda High School, one of top national institutions, quite surprisingly suffered an arson attack. According to the CS, some of the students use narcotics, which explains the recent wave of unrest in schools. He has asked head teachers not to readmit students with a criminal record.

Testing will enable schools to identify errant students so that they are isolated and dealt with to ensure the smooth running of the institutions. It should also help parents to seek medical help for their children and help to arrest the problem.

Marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs are readily available in schools, canteens and bars and shared by friends and crooked school workers. Students must be protected from these deadly substances.