TEACHERS TO UNDERGO DRUG TESTS: DEPED
Education department official says there are reports of teachers who are allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade
Officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) announced that the agency will start conducting random drug tests on all public school teachers nationwide as part of its campaign to cleanse DepEd of illegal drug users.
Around 764,000 public school teachers and 34,000 support staff working for DepEd could be subjected to the drug tests, said Education Secretary Leonor Briones.
Briones made the announcement during the nationwide launching of this year’s Brigada Eskwela at the Ramon Duterte Memorial National High School in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City yesterday.
In a press conference, Briones didn’t say when the agency plans to implement the testing. She said she she doesn’t want any fanfare.
She also assured teachers who will undergo the drug tests that the results will be confidential.
The teachers who will undergo the drug tests will be randomly.
Briones said that aside from public school teachers, high school students will also undergo random drug testing.
But she said DepEd is still coming up with the guidelines for the drug testing of high school students.
Briones said the need to conduct drug testing on teachers is due to reports that drug personalities have started infiltrating public schools.
Some teachers had been arrested for being involved in the selling of illegal drugs, Briones said.
The program also serves as DepEd’s contribution to the Duterte Administration’s war against illegal drugs.
Any teacher who will be caught positive for illegal drug use will be advised to take a leave of absence and seek help at a private or government rehabilitation facility.
The teacher will be allowed to resume his or her duties once she provides a certification that she is clean of illegal drugs, Briones said.
But for teachers who will be found to be habitual drug users and sellers, Briones said they will lose their jobs if they don’t stop.