Curbing drug abuse in secondary schools: According to recent statistics, drug abuse in secondary schools is taking an upward trend in Kenya. Many teenagers have found themselves in this uncontrollable web of substance misuse with no way of getting out. The big question is, how did they get there?

It is important to note that peer pressure plays a major role in the development of a teenager’s life. Again, the school environment is where they spend most of their lives at. It is therefore significant to control these people’s lives while at school before they get out of hand. Below are some measures that can be taken to combat this issue:

Peer Counseling

The students should be offered a one on one session with a counselor in the school environment. Here, they will be able to openly talk about the issues affecting them at school and those that may lead or have led them to indulge in substance abuse.

Create strict rules

Every school management should have a written down and explained set of rules governing this issue. There should be repercussions to any student found handling drugs in the school compound. This guidelines will in turn keep the students in check.

Visiting days should also be heavily monitored to avoid any slipping of drugs into the school. It should be made clear that all visitors will be checked on entering the school compound. This measure will ensure that the students do not get any drugs from outside.

Be more of a listener than a talker at times

This majorly refers to the parents to the students using the drugs. Parents often tend to be over-controlling especially when it comes to a teeneger’s demands. It is common for parents to ignore their children’s plea and insist that they go with the said rules or they leave the home. Under such pressure, the teenager may go into depression and as a result look for something to cool his nerves down. If this is not taken seriously the user may result to suicide. It is therefore important to lend a listening ear to a troubled teenager instead of always being right.

These measures if worked on together will help reduce or even eradicate drug usage in our secondary schools.

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