PRINCIPALS DEEPLY DIVIDED ON MERITS OF TESTING

MELBOURNE Grammar headmaster Paul Sheahan knows he's a fairly lonely
voice in the debate over drug testing in schools.

For the past 10 years, his elite private boys school has tested
around 25 students suspected of illicit substance abuse - most of
whom tested positive.

Mr Sheahan knows it's not a popular measure, but he believes drug
testing is for "the greater good".

"The idea is one of salvation, rather than damnation," Mr Sheahan
said. "We actually have the child's interest at heart. I know it
might sound as though we're fairly brutal but we're not. We believe
that kids lead much more productive lives without drugs, and if we
can help them get on the straight and narrow, that's all for the good."

At Melbourne Grammar, the process is simple. If students are reported
by their peers to be using drugs, or start displaying "signs" such as
erratic behaviour or a sudden decline in academic performance, their
parents are given an ultimatum: subject the child to a drug test or
remove him from the school.

The tests are conducted by an independent consultant. If it comes
back negative, "there's no problem", Mr Sheahan said. If it comes
back positive, students are counselled by the school and their
parents must agree to have their child tested regularly for 12 months
in order to remain enrolled.

So far, no family has refused to have their child tested, said Mr
Sheahan. But what about the potential consequences, some of which
were highlighted in today's Australian National Council on Drugs
report - which found that drug testing children could lead to
stigmatisation, mistrust between students and teachers and
embarrassment among their peers?

"It's not the best thing to do, but I reckon in some areas of social
behaviour within the community, we've gone a bit soft, and I think we
worry too much about some possible outcomes that might occur. But the
greater good needs to be served in my view," Mr Sheahan said.

"Often kids need a reason to be able to say no. Not many kids want to
be booted out of school so if this sort of possibility is hanging
over their heads, it gives them a good chance to say: 'No, I just
can't be involved, it's just not worth the risk."'

Not many schools agree with Melbourne Grammar's hardline stance, though.

St Michael's Grammar principal Simon Gipson said it would be more
positive to educate children about the dangers of drugs, rather than
drug test them.

Collingwood College principal Melanie Ruchel said drug taking among
students was rare and would not justify testing in schools. In the
past decade, she said, there was just one incident where her school
had to intervene and offered a student counselling and drug rehabilitation.

"It's something that doesn't belong in schools," she said. "The
concept of policing something shouldn't be a part of what a school
does - which isn't to say a school shouldn't take action if something
does occur - but it is not a school's core purpose."

Debney Park Secondary College principal Michael O'Brien said his
school, which has a high proportion of Muslim students from African
backgrounds, had not had a drug problem for the past six years. "But
before that, with a more Asian population, we had a very small number
of students and their families who needed some assistance," he said.