ALARM AT BLAIR'S DRUG-TEST PLANS FOR SCHOOLS

Charities Say Random Samples Will Drive Drug Use Underground

Secondary headteachers are to be urged to introduce random drug testing -
including taking urine samples - in schools as part of a drive to curb drug
abuse among teenagers.

The powers, arguably already available to headteachers, were proposed at
the weekend by Tony Blair, who instantly attracted criticism from drug
charities and the National Union of Teachers.

The move was first suggested in a Department for Education draft
consultation paper last year. The proposals are likely to prove popular
with many parents and will be formally published next month.

Mr Blair said in an interview with the News of the World yesterday: "We
cannot force them to do it, but if heads believe they have a problem in
their school, then they should be able to use random drug testing."

The government has also separately urged the police to increase sniffer-dog
patrols in schools.

Ministerial sources stressed that the option of drug testing would be a
matter for each headteacher, not local education authorities. Schools are
likely to be encouraged to hire private companies that are already involved
in drug testing in other areas.

The government is to recommend that there should be no testing of the
under-16s without the support and knowledge of parents, and that children
over 16 should be asked for their agreement.

Similar schemes in 1,000 US schools appear to have had some success in
cutting drug taking. Recent surveys suggest that as many as a quarter of
14-year-olds know of drug dealing in their school.

In a less punitive tone than the prime minister's, department sources
argued that headteachers should not punish those who tested positive, but
counsel them.

They said a punitive approach could lead to increased truancy. Drug
pushers, by contrast, should be expelled, the department said. Mr Blair had
argued that drug users could be expelled.

Mr Blair acknowledged that some heads might be reluctant to take the
dramatic and public step of hiring drug testers.

"Some headteachers may worry that if they go down this path they are
declaring there is a problem in this school," he said.

"But, in my view, the local community is probably perfectly well aware that
there is a problem."

Martin Barnes, the chief executive of the drug information charity
DrugScope, said the plans would do nothing to reduce drug abuse among
pupils at a time when the government was withdrawing funding earmarked for
drug workers in schools.

"These measures risk driving drug use further underground, an increase in
truancies and exclusions, and a breakdown in trust between pupils and
schools," he said. He said extensive consultation on the new guidance had
revealed strong opposition.

Eamonn O'Kane, the general secretary of the teaching union NASUWT, said:
"This would be a very big step for any headteacher to take."

John Dunford, the general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association,
said: "Very occasionally, heads may ask the police to carry out a random
search.

"But I am concerned at the implication that the drugs problem is rooted in
schools and that schools should solve it."

He complained that the DfE was abolishing its special grant for drug
education teams.

In the same interview, Mr Blair confirmed that he would stand for a third term.

"Whatever the problems and pressures, this is an immensely enjoyable and
fulfilling job, and I intend to carry on doing it," he said. "The times are
tougher, but I am a tougher person than six or seven years ago."

He said that suggestions that he had given a pledge to his wife that he
would stand down when she reached 50 were "bizarre".