DEPED BOLSTERS PREVENTIVE DRUG EDUCATION PROGRAM

The Department of Education has emphasized, on many occasions, that the Department is responding to the directives of the President to strengthen and enrich further curricular reforms on anti-illegal drugs which is part of her 10-point agenda for DepEd.

The Department has always been focused on the preventive approach as part of its broader, more holistic drug education program.

Developed in consultation with key stakeholders including experts, administrators, teachers, education leaders, and youth representatives, the Preventive Drug Education Program (PDEP) Policy for Curriculum and Instruction aims to forge stronger partnership with various stakeholders in promoting PDEP.

According to Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones, drug prevention is a collective responsibility. DepEd is not the only agency involved in the campaign against illegal drugs, she said, but the media itself, church institutions and civil society organizations.

The policy shall apply to DepEd officials and employees at all levels, as well as to learners in basic education. Private schools may adopt the policy, and are encouraged to formulate their own program consistent with the DepEd issuance.

The enhanced policy puts a premium on the creation of curricular platforms that shall ensure the integration of essential messages across all learning areas, and strengthen key competencies in the K to 12 Basic Education Program. It was also anchored on earlier issuance including DepEd Memorandum No. 200, s. 2016 (Strengthening the National Drug Education Program in Schools); DO No. 37, s. 2017 (Department of Education Drug-Free Workplace Policy); and DO No. 40, s. 2017 (Guidelines for the Conduct of Random Drug Testing for Public and Private Secondary Schools).