Strengthening drug prevention and control in schools

On the morning of June 22, the Ministry of Education and Training held an online conference to deploy tasks of HIV/AIDS prevention and control.drug, prostitution in schools, responding to the 2021 Drug Prevention and Control Action Month.

The conference was chaired by comrades: Ngo Thi Minh - Deputy Minister of Education and Training; Bui Quang Huy - Alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Secretary of the Central Youth Union, President of the Vietnam Student Association. On the Nghe An side, there were representatives of the Department of Education and Training, the Provincial Youth Union, the Provincial Police, universities, colleges and a number of related units. Photo: My Ha

The online conference took place in the context of the emergence of many new types of synthetic drugs across the country, mainly psychoactive drugs, causing hallucinations and paranoia that affect the nervous system. Meanwhile, the number of students using them is increasing, and some students use many types of drugs at the same time, making recovery even more difficult.

With many dangers and dangers from drugs, at the conference, delegates analyzed the causes of the increase in school drugs, the dangers and identified the tricks to attract students to the dangers of drugs, along with suggestions and recommendations.

In Nghe An, with the characteristics of a large province with complex mountainous terrain, in recent years, the work of preventing and combating drugs has encountered many difficulties. In the area, there are cases of students using drugs and in particular, there are cases of teachers in remote areas participating in drug trafficking and transportation.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Be - Head of Political and Ideological Department, Nghe An Department of Education and Training delivered a speech. Photo: My Ha

From this situation, with the discussion "Relationship: Family - School - Society in drug prevention and control", Nghe An Department of Education and Training has proposed solutions for drug prevention and control in Nghe An. The province has also implemented the signing of commitments between families, students, homeroom teachers, and unit leaders on drug prevention and control with 4 contents: do not try, do not keep, do not use, and do not transport drugs.

Concluding the conference, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Ngo Thi Minh said that the current situation of drug use is very complicated and the task of preventing and combating drugs in schools must be extremely urgent. To implement this, it is not only the responsibility of schools but also of relevant departments and sectors, to minimize the situation of "closing the barn door after the horse has been lost". Propaganda must be lively, creative, and appropriate for students.

Drug use among adolescents is increasing. Photo: document

The Education sector has also set out 5 groups of tasks on HIV, drug and prostitution prevention and control, focusing on depth. The immediate task is to survey and assess the current situation of drugs in schools, organize propaganda and training for Youth Unions and Teams in schools, socialize propaganda programs in the whole society, deploy a set of documents on drug prevention and control skills for parents and students to raise awareness, consciousness and prevention skills.

There are currently more than 235,000 drug addicts with records nationwide. Of these, those under 16 years old account for 0.1%, and those from 16 to under 30 years old account for 48%. Among those who illegally use drugs, about 60% of first-time drug users are between the ages of 15 and 25.

In particular, with the increasingly popular and diverse appearance of synthetic drugs, many children between the ages of 13 and 14 are now using drugs.