Secondary and primary school teachers have been urged to avoid abusing alcohol or any other drugs especially when in the company of their students, in an effort to set good examples to students.
Speaking in his office on Tuesday, Kiambu Sub-County education officer Mr Harrison Muriuki urged teachers to be good role models to their students, saying the young learners usually imitate what their teachers do.
Muriuki said teachers should play a major role in the war against drug abuse particularly in their schools and therefore should completely shun such habits, especially drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.
The education officer said some teachers are usually found being drunk and disorderly especially after school hours, a behaviour which he terms as uncouth and tarnishes teachers' image.
He observed that many drug addicts start using the substances when they are still in learning institutions leading to poor academic performance and dropping out of school by some students.
Muriuki said use of drugs by students resulted to poor relationships between the learners and their parents and also teachers.
“Teachers are bound to lead our students to success and counsel them appropriately on abuse of drugs because when some indulge themselves in alcoholism and drug abuse, they end up being irresponsible members of the society,” he said.
The officer further called upon the teachers to be on the look out to identify when their students may start using drugs.
He explained that it is easy to handle students at early times of using drugs than when one becomes an addict. Muriuki called upon all teachers in the area to be proactive in being good models by discouraging the vice.