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(L-R) USAID/Philippines Office of Education Chief Tom Crehan hands over to Department of Education Region XII Director Dr. Isabelita Borres copies of the DepED-developed drug abuse prevention education modules that USAID reproduced through the EQuALLS2 Project for use as guides in teaching grade school students to stay away from drugs. |
More than 100 elementary school teachers, principals, guidance counselors, and health personnel from the provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato, and the cities of Koronadal, Tacurong, and General Santos, recently attended a training seminar on Drug Abuse Prevention Education, as part of the information drive of the Department of Education (DepED) to reduce the prevalence of drug addiction in schools nationwide.
The training, supported by USAID through the EQuALLS2 Project, aims to strengthen DepED’s Drug Abuse Prevention Education Program pursuant to Section 43 of Article IV of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, particularly for EQuALLS2-supported public elementary schools in conflict areas in Mindanao.
Speakers and trainers from DepED, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) gave an orientation on the nature and ill effects of drug abuse, explained the responsibilities of school heads, teachers, guidance counselors, and health personnel in drug abuse prevention in schools, and discussed the integration of drug abuse prevention messages in the basic education curriculum.
USAID also turned over to the three government agencies copies of the DepED-developed training modules and the DDB-developed flyers that it helped reproduce.
DepED Region XII Director Dr. Isabelita Borres said during the training that there is a relatively high prevalence of drug addiction particularly in secondary schools in the region, based on random drug testing in schools last year.
“We want the teachers, the community, and the stakeholders in general to be aware of this existing problem. DepED, for its part, is also strengthening guidance and counseling programs for teachers and schools,” she explained.
Based on a household survey in 2008 by DDB and the Department of Interior and Local Government, there are about 1.7 million drug users in the country.
Drugs that are commonly abused include methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu), cannabis (marijuana, brownies, seeds, and hashish), and inhalants (contact cement).
The training was only one of several strategies of DepED and DDB to reduce drug addiction in schools and the workplace.
Its other strategies include the institutionalization of random drug testing in secondary and tertiary schools, a drug-free workplace program, a family drug abuse prevention program, Barkada Kontra Droga (peer group against drugs), a national youth congress on drug abuse prevention education, and a capability-building program.
DepED and USAID will hold similar trainings for EQuALLS2-supported schools in the cities of Zamboanga, Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao until September.
