A team appointed by Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has directed the Ministry of Education to roll out a programme to curb drug abuse and radicalization in Kenyan schools.
According to the report presented by the Clare Omolo-led team, drug and alcohol abuse in primary and secondary schools was rampant and contributing to student unrest.
In their radical proposal, the 11-man team called on the Education Ministry and that of the Interior to develop a programme to deal with the menace including the use of the breathalyser- alcoblow.
The team proposed that measures such as the use of alcoblow would go a long way in detecting and taking action on students who have taken alcohol.
In the proposal, learners in the schools would be randomly stopped and asked to breath into the alcoblow to determine whether or not they have alcohol in their breath.
It further proposed that school administrations and management should report to the police any presence of drugs, however small so that they can unearth the peddlers and suppliers.
They also noted that the kiosks and shops around schools were acting as conduits for the supply of illicit drugs to the students who in turn destabilise schools through unrest.
“Factors such as the presence of kiosks and bars around schools, porous perimeter fences and expansive compounds contributed to the menace,” read the report.
The team also reported that in some cases, teachers were involved in drug peddling and trafficking.
“In one case a stakeholder claimed that the school boys were taking alcohol like porridge,” read the report.
The team had been formed by CS Matiang’i to investigate student unrest in the country where 239 dormitories were burnt.
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