The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) chairman, John Mututho, has called on school authorities to be thorough when checking students during open days saying that schools have been earmarked as places where alcoholism and drug abuse is very prevalent.
This, he says, will help fight the vice at our institutions where teenagers have become addicted to the extent of performing dismally in class because of spending more time engaging in drug abuse.
Speaking in Naivasha, on Thursday, the NACADA boss regretted the fact that education standards were deteriorating in the country because of an ignorant society where elders give bad examples to youths, making them susceptible to unwanted practices.
''Students mix juice with alcohol, hide cigarettes in their socks and washing powder soap packets and even mix cocoa with cocaine,'' he said.
He further cautioned teachers who facilitate transport of drugs into schools saying that his office will liaise with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to ensure that punitive measures are taken against them.
“Though such cases are rare, we are still investigating the claims but trust me, if any teachers are found guilty, they will not go unpunished because how come our students are accessing drugs in schools?” Mututho asked.
Cases of students and drugs came to the limelight last year when schools closed after a group of students were arrested in a Nairobi-bound bus engaging in a sex orgy where several rolls of bang and used condoms were confiscated.
Mututho revealed that the authority will work with plain clothed officers when schools break for half-time in an attempt to arrest students that will be found buying alcohol and bar operators selling to them.