Addiction has reached dangerous proportions

CHANDIGARH, Oct 31: quot;Drug Addiction has reached dangerous proportions in the city schools. If allowed to go unchecked, the day is no...

CHANDIGARH, Oct 31: quot;Drug Addiction has reached dangerous proportions in the city schools. If allowed to go unchecked, the day is not far when the social fabric will crumble.quot; The observation was made by Prof R.M. Kalra, UPSC Education Advisor and an ICSSR senior fellow, while talking to Newsline here today.

Delhi-based Kalra was here to address a workshop in the Sector 25 Navodaya Vidyalaya today. Kalra, who has also authored quot;Drug Addiction in Schoolsquot;, has launched a campaign against drug addiction in schools by conducting workshops for school teachers and apprising them about the ways and means to combat the problem. quot;After I heard that the number of drug users in the adolescent group in Chandigarh was increasing at an alarming rate, I decided to visit the city and immediately conduct a workshop to mobilise the teachers here.

quot;To identify the drug users in the city schools, we have come up with special questionnaires for students, which can easily reveal drug addicts and potential drug users. The school principals will circulate these in their institutions to enable us identify the drug usersquot;, he said.

quot;The problem has to be tackled at different levels. Drug addicts and most importantly, potential drug addicts fall in the age group of 12-20 years. After identifying them, we will try and ascertain the cause following which necessary steps will be taken to combat the problem,quot; said Kalra.

Kalra said he was inspired by Mother Teresa. quot;I decided to work against social evils such as AIDS and drug-addiction in adolescents,quot; he added. He said family problems, broken homes and peer pressure all contribute to the problem. quot;What these drug addicts need is love and care. Teachers are the best source of love in the absence of the same from the parents. So, we will train the teachers in identifying children with the problem. Later, with the help of the city-based psychiatrists, we will provide counselling to these children. The parents will also be asked to interact on a regular basis to create a congenial environment for these kids. If the problem needs medical attention, we will ensure that the parents make it available to their children.quot;

quot;Also controlling the supply of these drugs is virtually impossible as these are freely available in the market and hence easily accessible to the students.quot; he added.