The National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol, and Drug Abuse (NACADA) has called to parents, schools and other stakeholders involved in the management of learning institutions to help fight alcohol and drug abuse in schools.
"Board Management in schools, parents and teachers must work together with the support of all stakeholders in the education sector to ensure that our institutions of learning are free from this menace."
In a statement, the authority said that poor parenting is one of the roots of drug and substance abuse in scho0ls.
This is according to surveys carried out in Secondary Schools in 2016 and Primary Schools in 2019.
"This prompted the Authority to initiate a Positive Parenting Programme through the mainstream and digital media to equip parents with necessary knowledge and skills to detect and take action on drug related incidences at home," the statement read.
The authority also came up with a programme to pilot Life Skill Lessons in Primary Schools.
The programme provides pupils with adequate and appropriate information on alcohol and drug abuse, equipping them with information to avoid drugs.
"NACADA has been training selected teachers to further strengthen prevention and management interventions in schools," the Authority added.
National Guidelines for Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention and Management in Basic Learning Institutions is another guideline developed for the drug use fight.
It was developed by the Ministry of Education in partnership with NACADA to provide a framework to guide responses to the drug issue in schools.
The program addresses myths and misinformation on alcohol and drug abuse.
NACADA said that the guidelines are expected to build a mass of staff and anti-drug abuse ambassadors who have basic skills to detect and address drug use in schools.
The authority has lauded schools for the effort they have been putting through the years to fight against alcohol and substance abuse.
In the 2016 survey, 16.9 percentage of pupils were abusing at least one drug (tobacco, cocaine, heroine, sativa) or alcohol and the 2019 survey indicated that 14.4 per cent of students were abusing drugs and alcohol.
