TEACHERS FEAR 'POLICE ROLE' OVER DRUG TESTS

Teachers say they risk being turned into policemen by Tony Blair's decision
to allow random drugs tests in English schools.

The Prime Minister said rules would be introduced to allow American-style
classroom checks as part of a drive to curb the spread of drug use.

He told the News of the World that guidance would be given to head teachers
next month, empowering them to carry out such tests if they felt it
necessary. Police sniffer dogs and urine tests will be permitted.

But teaching unions fear that the new measure could be unenforceable. They
say it could trigger a wave of litigation, with the parents of pupils
subjected to checks suing schools, governors and education authorities for
violating civil rights.

Eamonn O'Kane, the general secretary of the National Association of
Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said the guidelines amounted to
giving teachers police powers. He urged his colleagues to use them only as
a last resort.

"I think a head teacher would want to think very, very carefully before
exercising them," he said.

Drugs were a "totally unacceptable" problem in some schools, but the new
powers risked altering the relationship between pupils and teachers. "I
certainly would not like to see individual teachers involved in such
testing," he said.

Jean Gemmell, the general secretary of the Professional Association of
Teachers, said she was horrified by the decision. "I cannot quite see how
on earth it is going to work," she said. "Litigation is rife when teachers
are deemed to have done anything intrusive that parents or young people are
not happy with."

David Hart, the general secretary of the National Association of Head
Teachers, gave a cautious welcome to the scheme, saying it would give heads
"another weapon in their fight against drugs being pushed or used in their
schools".

However, Dr John Dunford, the general secretary of the Secondary Heads
Association, said the move pushed responsibility for tackling drugs on to
head teachers. "I am concerned at the implication that the drugs problem is
rooted in schools and that schools should solve it," he said.

Concern was also expressed by anti-drug campaigners. Martin Barnes, the
chief executive of the charity DrugScope, said: "These measures risk
driving drug use further underground, an increase in truancies and
exclusions and a breakdown in trust between pupils and schools."

The Tories accused Mr Blair of sending out mixed messages on drug policy
after the recent downgrading of the classification of cannabis. Tim
Collins, the party's education spokesman, said: "This is a welcome
announcement, but it does seem inconsistent with the fact that the
Government has led children to believe that using cannabis is less serious
than it was."

Phil Willis, the Liberal Democrats' education spokesman, said: "Drug abuse
is a major social problem, endemic across society. It should not be treated
in isolation as a school problem, nor be the responsibility of head
teachers to test children."