Students must undergo mandatory drug test – Education Ministry orders

Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Prof. George Magoha has supported the proposed mandatory drug tests for Maranda High School students ahead of schools reopening next week.

The CS said there was no doubt that some students at the school and across the country were using drugs, which explains the recent wave of unrest in schools. He said the testing is key in identifying errant students so that they are isolated and dealt with to ensure smooth running of the institutions.

Also read; Learners and drug abuse; Steps to be taken if a learner is confirmed to be abusing drugs

Some parents, he said, were too busy to spend time with their children making it difficult for them to discover any unusual behavior in them.

He said the government was treating the issue of school unrest seriously and warned that stern action will be taken against any students found culpable.

Prof Magoha urged parents to spend time with their children, counsel and guide them to ensure they uphold high standards of discipline while in school. “The problem we are facing now starts at home. We have children who are being given everything they ask for at home and when they come to school they expect to get the same treatment,” he said.

He urged teachers to remain vigilant as schools reopen to ensure that the education calendar runs smoothly.

The government, he said, has released capitation funds to schools and asked parents to ensure that all children report to school on Monday.

Prof Magoha was speaking on Thursday at Obwolo Secondary School in Kisumu East Sub-County during the groundbreaking ceremony for Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) classrooms.

Magoha said the government was on course to deliver on the project which targets to construct 10, 000 classrooms for Junior Secondary across the country by April next year.

“In some areas we have been assured that the classrooms shall be ready by the end of February. This will give the President ample time to look for an additional Sh8 billion to construct more classrooms by June 2022,” he said.

Earlier, the CS met National Secondary School heads and urged them to put in more effort to ensure smooth running of the education calendar and national examinations next year.

He said the Government has put in place adequate measures to ensure that the examinations are protected and urged the teachers to ensure that no cases of irregularities are reported.