RANDOM DRUG TEST FOR TEACHERS PUSHED

Top officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Negros
Oriental have pushed for a random drug testing for teachers.

The move came after the proposal of a random drug test for students
in both secondary and tertiary level.

DepEd administrative officer Lida Sarmiento told Sun.Star there are
also suspected users of prohibited drugs among teachers.

Ma Joy Catacutan, education supervisor for health, echoed Sarmiento's
statement.

Catacutan believed these teachers might have been using illegal drugs
before they were hired as teachers. This, she said, is the reason a
mandatory drug test is required for teachers.

Catacutan said a random drug test is the most effective way to
determine drug users since it is unannounced. "Nobody can prepare."

But she clarified that they are yet to receive official notice for
the scheduled random drug test for students as proposed by Anti-Drugs
Board chair Vicente Sotto III.

Catacutan also said a random drug test is not just effective but also
helps drug-dependent students. She explained that students found
positive of any prohibited drug substance will be
rehabilitated.

She added that nobody from the students who were found positive
during the previous random drug tests have been housed at drug
rehabilitation centers. They were properly guided, she said.

DepEd and the Department of Health (DOH) have conducted a random drug
test three years ago in two of Negros Oriental's secondary schools:
Negros Oriental High School and Manjuyod National High School.