Deped urges other areas to print anti-drug modules

THE Department of Education (Deped) in Davao Region is encouraging other areas in the region to produce a drug education module similar to what was launched by the Davao City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Cadac) here last month.

Deped-Davao spokesperson Jenielito Atillo said the drug education module and the Alternative Learning System (ALS) will be integrated in the curriculum and applied in the schools here in Davao City starting on school year 2018-2019.

"We do hope that this will be replicate by other areas in the region, if not, at least they can do something about it also in combating illegal drugs inside the classroom, utilizing the resources of the local government unit (LGU)," Atillo said.

The modules are the output of the writeshop funded by Health Education and Promotion Office of the Mental Health Program–Department of Health intended to enhance learning competencies of the Grades 4 to 12 last October 2017.

It contains topics on the Science of Addiction; Physiology and Pharmacology; Co-occurring Disorders, Treatment and Management, Community Development, and the Role of the Higher Education Institutions in Davao City's Tabangan Atong Reformists Aron Naay Asenso (Tara Na) program and Sustainability of the Community Based Recovery Support

System (CBRAP).

Aside from these modules would educate the students, the move of the City Government of Davao also shows a very good mirror of partnership between the LGUs and the Deped in educating and honing the awareness of the youth.

"In fact, this is not the first time we had such program. In the past, we also had the Drug Abuse Resistance Education. There is really an effort from City Government of Davao to educate our young versus the evils of drugs/vices," he said.

Deped-Davao Division Learning Management and Development System head Aries Juanillo earlier said that they are confident that the school teachers here are capable of teaching these modules since it has gone through pilot testing. ICT (For full story visit www. sunstar.com.ph/davao/)