Review anti-drug education programmes to assess effectiveness — MCPF
SIBU: The existing anti- drug education programmes in schools ought to be reviewed to assess their effectiveness, suggested Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation ( MCPF) senior vice- chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
He made the suggestion in the wake of recent disclosure by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed that children in 420 schools nationwide have been identified by the Royal Malaysian Police and Education Ministry to be at high risk of serious drug abuse.
Nur Jazlan reportedly said if the situation was ignored, the drug addiction problem would worsen making it difficult to control.
Lee believed that the figure disclosed may not be the full picture as yet, because there may be cases that were not reported.
“At the moment, there are already anti- drug education programmes and I think school children are given awareness on the dangers of drug abuse. But to what extent are these programmes effective?
“The time has come for all the anti- drug programmes in schools to be reviewed or studied again with the help of the Ministry of Home Affairs and relevant agencies,” he suggested yesterday.
Lee observed that those people involved with supply of drugs are becoming more daring these days and that he has the feeling these bad hats are going all out to introduce drugs to school students.
“Perhaps, they had started off by giving them (students) some sweets laced with drugs.”
Calling for concerted efforts to fight drug abuse, Lee urged parents to monitor their children’s activities.
“The fight against drug in schools is ultimately multidimensional approach, where parents need to get involved. The parent-teacher association ( PTA) need to be also involved,” he added.