Students call for more to be done to address drug abuse in schools

More can be done to address drug and substance abuse in primary and secondary schools.

This is according to the Head Boy of Kalabu Secondary School Joji Lolomai who says that drug and substance abuse continues to be a real problem in the school system.

He says while awareness through Family Life classes is helping there is more that can be done.

272 school drug cases were recorded by the National Drug and Substance Abuse Advisory Council in schools last year with the highest number recorded in the Nausori District.

There were 205 drug cases in secondary schools while 67 were recorded in primary schools.

Cigarette smoking continues to top the list of drug and substance abuse cases recorded in schools around the country with 144 cases last year.

There were also 38 alcohol related offences in schools last year with 25 cases recorded in secondary schools.

26 cases of student smoking or found with marijuana were recorded in schools last year with four cases in primary schools.

30 cases of glue sniffing were recorded last year.

There were 26 reported cases in secondary schools and 4 in primary schools.

The data in the report was collected from 451 schools in Fiji.