DRUGS: SCHOOLS, PARENTS HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO

DUBAI -- The arrest of 17 school students in Dubai for allegedly
smoking hashish three years ago had sent shock waves through
schools, parents and students. Heads of schools and parents then
observed that education, awareness and collective
responsibility would help weed out the problem. While
several international schools have been addressing the issue and
parents are openly discussing the topic at home, many feel there is
still a long way to go.

Some institutions like Jumeirah College and Greenfield Community
School have incorporated social health as part of their curriculum.
"We have a personal social health education programme. The lecture
held for an hour every week," says head of Jumeirah College,
Christopher Short.

"While we do not have a specific drugs programme in the Science
curriculum, we do talk to the older students on the dangers of
addiction and abuse," Short adds.

He says it is imperative that students are aware of the ill-effects
of drug abuse. "Students would be exposed to drugs when they go
abroad and we should prepare them to face reality," Short stresses.

Principal of The Winchester School, Dubai, Raminder Vig says since
the impact of drugs on children is immense, the problem should be
nipped in the bud. "There is more awareness in the UAE and the law
is stringent on such offences. In the US, children sometimes steal
money to buy drugs and this affects the family also in the
long term," he says.

While schoolchildren here have a good level of awareness about the
menace, Vig says: "Children should be encouraged to hold conferences
on the dangers of use and abuse of drugs as that will have a greater
impact on their peers." The school has invited a specialist from
the UK to talk to the children on the social skills. The school
hopes the students will get the message through the session.

Some parents consider it as an integral part of familial bonding to
discuss issues like drugs with their kids openly, instead of
avoiding the topic. Parent Geethanjali Kanagaratnam feels while
awareness exists thanks to the life skills programmes in schools and
on television, she says "parents should not treat the subject as a taboo".

Recalling an incident that happened a few years back, she says, :My
daughter had a friend who used to take drugs and alcohol. She knew
about it all along and one day, the boy died of overdose. She was
really shocked when it happened and that sort of nailed the point we
were trying to make." Geethanjali believes parents should take the
first step to bridge the gap with their children and talk to them
before its too late.

Natasha Kulkarni and her husband share their teenage experiences
with their adolescent son to keep him in sync with reality.

She feels that many Indian schools do not have an active counselling
system equipped to deal with adolescent issues unlike their
international counterparts.

For instance, Grade X Indian student Sudakshina Shivkumar says she
doesn't have enough information on drugs as her school never
discusses the subject. "I know I should not take drugs but I would
like to know more about it. Schools must talk to us about the issues
based on the ground reality," she says.

While many Indian schools have campaigns against smoking, drugs are
usually an untouched subject, feel parents and children.

Darryl Bloud, principal of Dubai Modern High School, concedes that
his school does not have any programmes addressing the problem of
drugs, but says they would take up the issue in the future. "These
are real issues which our kids will face when they leave schools. We
definitely should engage our parents who work in hospitals and ask
them to talk to our kids. More schools should create programmes for
students," he asserts.

The Department of Social and Psychological Welfare Programmes of the
Ministry of Education, in fact, has its counsellors and social
workers who conduct preventive awareness programmes regularly in
government schools. Ahmed Al Khayyat, director of the department,
says that in case they do come across students addicted to smoking
or drugs, which is usually rare and negligible, the counsellors
intervene and ensure that they counsel and help kids overcome the problem.