Drugs causing pupils to be unfit for classes

Drug misuse has reached such "alarming proportions" that students are turning up for school in an unfit state to attend class…

Drug misuse has reached such "alarming proportions" that students are turning up for school in an unfit state to attend class, according to school managers, writes Kathryn Holmquist Education Correspondent

School managements are "not equipped to be social workers", Mr George O'Callaghan, general secretary of the Joint Managerial Body/Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools, warned yesterday.

Managers are having to "pick up the pieces", and this is affecting all students, whether they use drugs or not, Mr O'Callaghan said.

The problem of drug misuse existed in all schools and in all socio-economic situations, he added.

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In his address to the annual conference of the JMB/AMCSS in Killarney last night, the president, Mgr James Cassin, said: "Some students are listless and some disruptive. At a young age students are introduced to alcohol and other substances that have a deleterious effect on their education, and in a number of instances students sustain damage to their health that remains with them for the remainder of their lives."

He said: "The disruption alone and the immediate fallout have put staffs to the pin of their collar."

He added that "this is a problem that can only be solved through real partnership of parents and teachers".

"There is no intention here to point the finger of blame at any one of the stakeholders in education. It would, however, be irresponsible in the extreme not to name the problem and to search for a mechanism to respond to a problem that affects a growing number of our students."

He said when schools expel or suspend students, they are returning to school despite the wishes of management after taking appeals under Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998. This leaves school managements unable to impose effective discipline because students know they can get back into school on appeal.