The Ministry of Education has called on teachers and school authorities across the country to step up surveillance of students amid growing concerns over the presence of drug networks in basic and secondary schools.
The appeal follows recent intelligence and enforcement operations by the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), which suggest that drug-related activities are increasingly being recorded within educational institutions rather than remaining confined to traditional street-level distribution channels.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Wednesday, June 24, Deputy Minister for Education, Dr Clement Apaak, expressed concern about the growing use of opioids and tramadol among young people, describing the trend as part of a broader national and global drug abuse challenge that requires urgent intervention.
He said the government is collaborating with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ghana Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Service to strengthen monitoring and preventive measures in schools.
According to Dr Apaak, teachers are at the frontline of efforts to identify unusual behaviour among students and prevent drug-related activities from taking root within educational institutions.
Dr Apaak urged teachers and school authorities to conduct searches of students’ belongings as part of efforts to strengthen discipline and ensure safety on school campuses.
“So, within our context, what we are doing through the Ghana Education Service and the Ghana TVET Service is to call on teachers to be very vigilant in monitoring the behaviours of their learners. And if necessary, they should search their bags.
“And remember that since we took over the reins of governance, as part of our efforts to re-instill discipline in our educational system, we have given managers of our secondary institutions, in particular, the full authority to search the luggage and other bags and trunks and chop boxes that students bring and have in their dormitories,” he said.
Dr Apaak stressed that addressing the growing threat of drug abuse and trafficking in schools will require a coordinated response involving teachers, parents, school administrators, and security agencies.
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