Sindh to launch drug tests in colleges

The Sindh government is intending to conduct drugs abuse screening test in all educational institutions across the province.

However, the testing spree will start from government colleges. 

As per the formal notification issued by College Education Department Secretary Asif Ikram, a three-member committee will be constituted to oversee the drug screening process in all the colleges. 

The notification elaborates that each committee will comprise the director general of colleges, the regional director for the respective district, and the principal of the said colleges.

The tests are part of an attempt to control the menace of drug abuse in educational institutions in Sindh. 

Sindh Health Department teams will assist the officers from the College Education Department along with paying surprise visits to all the government colleges across the province. The teams will conduct drug abuse screening tests randomly on a number of students.

Additionally, the government committee will organize seminars, workshops, and awareness sessions in collaboration with the stakeholders in their respective colleges on the effects of drug use on health, academics, and future career prospects.

Talking to Express Tribune, Sindh Director General of Colleges, Dr Naveed Rab, announced that the screening will be carried out under the supervision of college authorities.

 Notably, the Health Department is working on establishing a framework to determine how colleges will be selected and related parameters for conducting the screening.

Furthermore, the director general said that discussions are going on regarding the process of getting student consent for the screening. 

In a bid to officiate the process, the Sindh Anti-Narcotics Department and other relevant departments will be involved in helping eliminate the menace of drug abuse from educational institutions.

Previously, reports of prevalent drug use in educational institutions have emerged from the capital territory of Islamabad.