Random Drug Tests To Include College Faculty Members Faculty members of colleges and universities across the country will not be spared from the random drug testing order of President Arroyo, according to Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Chairman Emmanuel Angeles. "Besides the students, we are also going to include faculty members of each college or university in the drug testing to ensure they are clean and can be helped if they are found using illegal drugs,'' Angeles told a news conference at CHEd office in UP Diliman, Quezon City. [continues 500 words]
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has expressed alarm over increasing reports of illegal drug use in schools. CHED Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Carlito S. Puno said about 10 to 15 percent of students in both public and private schools may have used or are using prohibited drugs like shabu, (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and the so-called "E-drug" or Ecstasy in between classes or during their break or free time. "It's a growing concern. The government, the schoolheads, and the agencies concerned should really do something to curtail the problem; otherwise, the number will double in 10 years," Puno warned. [continues 311 words]
More than 500 students from public and private high schools in Southern Mindanao underwent a random drug testing yesterday, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced. Director Thelma Santos of the DepEd School Health and Nutrition Center and Education Undersecretary Ramon Bacani led the drug testing with Department of Health (DoH) personnel in 17 schools all over Region 11 (Southern Mindanao). There were 30 students selected at random in each school. The health department and its accredited drug testing laboratories performed the drug tests on high school students. [continues 397 words]
