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100-Day anti-drug programme in WP Schools by NDDB
View(s):The National Dangerous Drug Board (NDDB) has organised a 100-day programme to eliminate drugs in 100 schools in the Western Province (WP), to fight the drug menace within schools.
The programme is on the lines of the 100-day yahapalanaya programme of the new government. The programme targets students of schools in the vulnerable areas of the WP where drugs are freely available.
NDDB Assistant Director- Preventive Education & Training, K.G. Pradeep Kumara said that schools in high risk areas such as Wanathamulla, Slave Island and Borella were earmarked for the programme. A new concept introduced by the NDDB used the students in conveying the message to their peers. “They were taught to say “No” to drugs,” he said.
Mr Kumara said that 15 Education and Information officers and 20 Outreach officers of the NDDB had visited the schools and educated Ordinary Level and Advanced Level students on the adverse effects of using drugs. From among them 15 students were selected from each school and given intensive training on individual and group counseling sessions to counsel their peers. “The students were selected on their leadership qualities and their genuineness in participating in the programme,” he said.
Already, 700 School Quality Society (SQS) certificates have been awarded to students at the end of their training. The training included knowledge in life skills development, skills on coping abilities and the importance of being assertive.
In a separate programme, the teachers too were also trained to detect students using drugs. “They were trained on how to screen students and identify drug users,” he said.
The programme’s success has prompted the NDDB to extend it to other parts of the country, especially to the north and east where the problem of drug use is intense. ”Our officers are already working on the project,” he said.