The ministerial committee for devising a strategy to keep educational institutions free from drugs held its second meeting at the directorate of staff development here on Friday.
Provincial Minister for School Education Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan and Higher Education Minister Raza Ali Gillani co-chaired the meeting which pondered over the agenda of keeping campuses free from narcotics in detail.
It was observed that narcotics are injurious to health and that the youth must be provided healthy atmospheres congenial to study. Higher Education Minister Raza Gillani said that public sector universities’ vice-chancellors have already been instructed to devise standard operating procedures and follow the government’s directions with regard to curb the menace of on campus drugs.
He said that medical equipment should also be provided to educational institutions to identify students using drugs. All the higher education institutions in the province, whether public or private, will have to abide by the government’s instructions to keep their students safe from drugs, he said. No one is above the law and immediate action will be taken against drug users, he warned. He observed that parents, teachers, the media, and civil society should come forward to play their collective role for the eradication of drugs from society.
Rana Mashhood, who is also the convener of the committee, said that focal persons should be appointed by educational institutions and their list sent to the government. He disclosed that a comprehensive system would be devised to stop all use of drugs in educational institutions. Educational institutions should adopt a zero tolerance policy and keep close liaison with the police to keep students safe from drugs, he said, asking parents to sensitise their children about the hazards of drugs from early childhood.
Anti Narcotics Force Regional Director Brig Khalid Mahmood Goraya, and representatives from the school education, higher education, social welfare, excise and taxation, and police departments also attended the meeting.
