Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jan 2005
Source: Cyprus Mail, The (Cyprus)
Copyright: Cyprus Mail 2005
Contact:  http://www.cyprus-mail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/100
Author: John Leonidou
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

'SOMETHING MUST BE DONE' ABOUT DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

DRUGS have become an escalating daily scourge, which the authorities must 
root out before it destroys society, deputies heard yesterday.

The House Education Committee was discussing the issue in the wake of a 
seizure of drugs at the Lanitio Lyceum in Limassol, looking at ways to 
tackle the problem.

Committee Chariman Nicos Tornaritis of DISY said drugs in schools were 
becoming a dangerous phenomenon, with existing measures to tackle the 
problem so far ineffective.

"The problem of drugs in Cyprus, almost unknown to some until a few years 
ago, is now becoming a day-to-day problem, which is getting worse and 
worse, which is endangering youth on the island and society in general. I 
believe that now is the time to face the enemy, which has weaved into our 
homes and schools with the intent of destroying our society.

"The recent discovery of drugs on the premises of the Lanitio Lyceum in 
Limassol has confirmed our fears about the escalating problem of drugs in 
Cyprus. It seems that the education sector has become a prime target for 
drug dealers. It seems that the policing, if ever there was any, has done 
nothing to prevent the selling of illegal and dangerous substances to 
school pupils."

Addressing the committee members at the beginning of the meeting, 
Tornaritis spoke of the root of the drug problem in schools, as well as the 
measures that would have to be taken.

"The recent revelation of youngsters turning to drugs has confirmed our 
failure. The main factors that have driven young people towards these 
tragic circumstances are due to the loosening of ethics in society, lack of 
principles and the fact that the main values in today's family are being lost.

"Other problems that could turn a child towards drugs could be insecurity 
or too much competition -- we have also seen more and more cases of 
children turning towards drugs because of the stress of school and the fact 
that they feel insecure about their future.

Psychological aspects, such as mixing with bad company so the youngster can 
create an identity for him or herself, can also contribute to problems with 
drugs."

The president of the Teachers' Union OELMEK, Andreas Iosif, told the 
committee that better control and security at the schools were a key issue 
that wasn't taken seriously enough.

"It has been announced that 13 schools in Cyprus are known to be a 'high 
risk environment', where drug use is common, but I believe that the actual 
number is a lot of higher. There has got to be better control and security 
at all the schools on the island."

Iosif also pinpointed factors, which OELMEK believed would be essential in 
tackling the drug problems in schools.

* More guards should be placed on school grounds, while schools should also 
lock the school gates and have better control over who comes and goes in 
the school. We have seen a lot of times outsiders entering school grounds 
and causing trouble.

* Smoking should be dealt with much more severely in schools seeing as it 
is the first step for many children before they move onto drugs.

* Parents and teachers should meet more often not only with each other but 
also with police officials.

* There should be better communication with teachers or parents with a 
relative authority. By that I mean that some teachers or parents do not 
know whom to turn to if they believe their child or pupil is on drugs.

* We should also all aim to making a better environment in schools with not 
just the sole principle being the education system.

His proposal received a lukewarm reaction from the committee members, 
especially from DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou who laughed off the suggestion 
of sealing off schools, saying pupils could simply smuggle in drugs in 
their bags if they wanted to take drugs into schools. Nobody, however, 
suggested searching schools bags on entry to the school.

Meanwhile, Michalis Papadopoulos of the Parents' Association spoke of the 
fears some parents had over wanting to report drug users or possible drug 
dealers in or out of schools. The fears come from the recent beating of a 
parent who confronted some drug dealers outside the same Lanitio Lyceum on 
December 17 last year.

Committee members then turned their attention towards the representative of 
the Ministry of Education, Andreas Skotinos, asking why policing had not 
been stepped up at the school since the beating of the parent back in December.

The pupils' representative from the school, Georgos Karounas, told 
committee members that not enough was being done to inform pupils on the 
problem.

"I personally didn't find out about the events of December 17 at my school 
until I read about it in the paper the following day. We were not informed 
by anybody at the school and neither did the Ministry of Education or the 
police meet with us to discuss the matter.

"Also worrying is the fact that some teachers cannot tell if a student is 
high or not on drugs."

Meanwhile his fellow student, Matheos Kazamias, who is chairman of the 
Cyprus Pupils' Association (PSEM), felt his group should be more involved 
with meetings concerning drugs in school. He said PSEM was more than 
willing to meet with an organisation to discuss the matter.
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MAP posted-by: Beth