Schools not to be blamed for students' substance abuse - Burchell

Permanent Secretary for Education Alison Burchell says schools should not be blamed regarding issues relating to drug and substance abuse in schools as it is more of a community issue that everyone needs to address.

There were 140 cases of students smoking tobacco in primary schools, 3 cases of primary students smoking marijuana, 161 cases of students drinking kava, 59 cases of primary school students drinking alcohol, 4 cases of students drinking homebrew and 50 cases of students sniffing inhalants recorded by the National Substance Abuse and Advisory Council last year.

There were 251 cases recorded of secondary students sniffing inhalants, 115 cases of students smoking marijuana, 11 cases with students dealing drugs, 598 cases of secondary school students smoking tobacco, 32 cases of students drinking kava, 119 cases involving students drinking alcohol and 91 cases of students found with homebrew.

Burchell says if a child comes to school and is showing signs of abuse it does not necessarily come from school.

She says it is not a child protection issue in the school context but a home or community context.

Burchell says they are also working with other institutions like National Advisory Councils, Police and NGOs to try and address it and get a good success rate.

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