Stay away from alcohol and drugs.
This was the emphatic message delivered to Ikhwezi Technical Skill Centre learners during an under-age drinking awareness campaign hosted by Tyeks Security Services, in partnership with the South African Police Service, Department of Education, and the Eastern Cape Liquor Board, at the school on March 14.
The awareness campaign came as the school battles substance abuse among its learners, with cases of learners being caught with drugs within school premises on the rise.
Department of Education deputy chief education specialist, Mlungiseleli Ntsila, said peer education clubs will be established at the school, where learners will debate and even sing about under-age drinking and drug abuse, as a way of raising awareness amongst themselves.
“Idleness is the mother of all vices. As part of raising awareness about the negative impact of under-age drinking and drug use, we need to keep these learners’ minds busy with positive things, so they are not swayed by peers into these social ills,” Ntsila said.
He further proposed that the school be involved in moot court competitions and establish Youth Citizens Action Programme (YCAP), which will encourage learners to be active and responsible citizens in tackling social ills affecting their peers in their respective communities.
Tyeks Security Services said the awareness campaign was part of their ongoing efforts to forge partnerships with police and civil society, to tackle various social ills that contribute to the high crime rate in Mthatha.
“As a company we try to work hand-in-hand with police and communities around us. We are also offering our highly-trained dogs to schools around Mthatha that can help detect drugs and weapons being brought into school premises,” said Tyeks Security Services operations manager, Granger Croener.
“Stay away from alcohol as it ruins your future. Under-age girls who indulge in alcohol are even worse off, as they often fall victim to rape and they, sometimes, cannot even recount how the incident happened because they were under the influence of alcohol,” warned Sergeant Nomsiteli Dungelo who works as a crime prevention officer attached to Ngangelizwe Police Station.
“Some get criminal records at a tender age for being involved in criminal acts as a result of being under the influence of alcohol.”
The Eastern Cape Liquor Board said it will soon launch its school ambassador programme at the school. The programme sees nominated learners undergoing rigorous training on how to roll out under-age drinking campaigns at their respective schools.
“The school had incidents where learners were caught with drugs and alcohol inside the school premises, and we have referred some of these learners to social workers employed by the Department of Education. We hope the number of initiatives proposed during the awareness session will be rolled out urgently, to curb the scourge of under-age drinking and drug abuse,” said Ikhwezi Technical Skills Centre deputy principal, Lwazi Dlaba.
Dlaba said the abuse of alcohol and drugs by learners was negatively affecting the pass rate of the school.
