The on-going media coverage of the use of methamphetamine, commonly known as Tik has focused renewed attention on drug abuse in our schools.
Off course we differentiate between habitual abuse of drugs and drug dealing, which should be condemned and punished, and experimentation or peer-group led abuse, which should be dealt with in the context of restorative justice.
We will do everything in our power to assist learners who are dependent on drugs and who need and want assistance. Where learners reject assistance, disciplinary measures will be obviously have to be enforced.
We are aware that drugs have devastating consequences not only for the user, but also the families and the broader community. Research has shown that drug abuse contributes to crime, domestic violence, family disintegration and social problems.
During the week of 21 to 28 June, we have visited the Mitchell's Plain community, to warn learners about the dangers of using drugs. We have also run seminars with teachers on drug abuse, and dealing with perceptions of what a drug is, defining misuse and abuse, school policy, prevention strategies, and treatment options.
We have released information brochures and introduced learning programmes in the classrooms, to assist teachers with promoting awareness. The issue of drug abuse is also included in the Life Orientation learning area.
We are part of the Provincial Task Team on Substance Abuse, in partnership with other provincial departments and NGO's, including the Departments of Community Safety and Health, SAPS, Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA), and NICRO.
I have visited certain school communities who shared with me the effects of drug abuse by school-going children on their families, and who requested interventions.
The department is running sustained programmes in all its EMDC's, directed to both learners and teachers, about different drugs and their effects, managing related situations, and a range of responses for schools.
Our safe schools programme has been presenting awareness programmes at various schools, but we have also targeted particular interventions in identified schools. Off course schools are sensitive about being named.
The awareness programmes will be evaluated at a later stage to determine their outcomes and their degree of effectiveness.
The problem of drug abuse is not restricted to the metro though. We are running awareness programmes in both the metro and rural areas. For the first half of this year, more than 100 cases of drug abuse and enquiries have been reported to our Schools Call Centre, and this figure includes the rural areas.
I have to reiterate that these cases are potentially only the tip of the iceberg, as there is a large degree of unreported cases.
Some officials in my department are saying sometimes they are not coping. The major problem is that there is a shortage of treatment facilities. The solving of this issue is currently under investigation by the various government departments, including the Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation.
Drug abuse should be addressed through a holistic, integrated approach, where all spheres of government, non-governmental, and community- and faith-based organisations play an active role.
The role of parents is critical in the development of our society. If your child is having treatment, parents should become involved in the treatment process. Parents should educate themselves, acquire information about alcohol and drugs. Listen to your children in a non-judgemental manner, and talk with them.
Educators should encourage learners to ask questions. For example, discuss alcohol advertising in class. Help learners make sense of the role that advertising can sometimes play in promoting a lifestyle of drug and alcohol use. In many ways, the use of alcohol leads to the use of drugs.
To the Learners we are saying: you are unique. Control your life and don't let others make decisions for you. Drugs can make your marks drop at school. Rather set yourself clear goals regarding your future. You can make a success of your life.
The previous government denied your parents certain opportunities, but you can now enjoy the fruits of the sacrifices of the Mandela's, the Sisulu's, the Tambo's and many others who made this possible.
Drugs are not cool. Gangsters are definitely not funky. It's not heroic to attack helpless people, to wear expensive clothes and jewellery stolen from others, to drive flashy cars acquired from the proceeds of crime. That's the behaviour of a coward.
Real hero's are those that reach for their dreams in life, that set for themselves positive goals and work hard to achieve them. Real heroes care for their parents, brothers and sisters. Real heroes care for their fellow pupils who perhaps do not have something to eat.
I want to urge all MPL's to get involve in their local community, to assist the hundreds of real heroes in the form of community and health workers, who are battling on a daily basis to save the lives of our young ones. Let us be part of a network of role models, providing alternative ways than the ways of the gangster and the drug dealer.
We must, as a society, work together to build a nation of which we all can be proud of. Our future depends on it.
It is therefor important that we make these interventions now and not a minute later.
I thank you
For enquiries, contact Gert Witbooi: 082 824 4811, or gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Secretary
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za
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