CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

DELHI

                                                                                                                        Circular No. 30/05

July 11, 2005

 

 No. D(A)/05                                                                                                                                      

                

To

All Heads of institutions

affiliated to CBSE

 

Subject:           Drug Awareness Programme

 

Dear Principal,

 

            Drug Abuse has been considered as an important curricular concern in school education for quite sometime.  The Government of India is of the view that there is a need for proper networking among different agencies to facilitate effective organization of programmes to bring awareness among students about drug abuse.  Various media reports also underline the urgent need to address the issue at school level in a systematic and responsible manner.  As the student population gets inundated with a lot of information coming from different sources, it becomes the responsibility of the schools to empower the children by providing the right information as well as skills to make a wise choice for a healthy living.  One of the specific objectives of the General Framework of Adolescence Education is “to make the learners aware of the causes and consequences of drug abuse and ways of preventing it and to develop in them a rational attitude as well as the skills to say ‘no’ to drugs”.

 

            Schools should make concerted efforts to integrate both curricular as well as co-curricular approaches to attain this objective.  The curricular components that are already incorporated in different subjects can be highlighted for raising the awareness of students about drugs, the harmful effects of their abuse and the ways of preventing drug abuse.

Apart from the curricular intervention, co-curricular activities through an informal mode can also be organized to develop an advocacy programme and to create opportunities for students to acquire the basic life skills to behave assertively and to say ‘No’ to drugs.  Some activities that schools can organize for students in this regard are suggested below:

 

·         Sensitization through formal and informal discussions.

·         Awareness raising among students by organizing interactive sessions with experts in the field.

·         Strengthening the counselling component by sensitizing school counsellors to handle issues connected with drug abuse.

·         Educating children by involving local nodal agencies working in the field of Narcotics Control, Social Justice, Law Empowerment etc.

·         Empowering children by organizing specifically designed co-curricular activities such as role play, value clarification, group discussion and so on.

     

     Schools can add to this list of activities depending on their local needs and availability of resources.    Timely and sustained effort is necessary to educate and empower the children so that they do not fall victims to the obnoxious habit of substance abuse.    The Board fervently hopes that all the affiliated schools will realize the importance of addressing this serious concern by putting in place an effective programme of action.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

Yours sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                            (G. BALASUBRAMANIAN)

DIRECTOR (ACADEMIC)