The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has thrown his weight behind plans to introduce mandatory and random drug integrity tests for students in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The move followed a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, July 30, with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Buba Marwa (retd).
Both officials met to discuss new strategies to tackle the growing menace of substance abuse among students.
In a statement released by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the agency said the education minister also approved the integration of updated drug education into the secondary school curriculum and agreed to set up an inter-ministerial working group between the education ministry and the NDLEA.
Marwa, while presenting his proposal, outlined a three-part strategy: redesigning drug education content, introducing dedicated anti-drug programmes in secondary schools, and enforcing drug testing policies in universities, targeting both fresh and returning students through random checks.
Describing the drug crisis as a serious national threat, Marwa said, “We are fighting for the souls of our children. Without drugs, many criminal activities would not be possible.”
He noted that in the last two years, the NDLEA had arrested over 40,000 drug offenders and confiscated more than 5,500 metric tonnes of drugs.
In response, Alausa acknowledged the gravity of the issue and the consequences for youth development.
“When the youths get into drugs, they won’t go to school, and even when they go to school, they are not getting a functional education,” the minister said.
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“At the end of the day, what happens? Their level of critical thinking is lower. Their ability to make informed decisions in the later part of their life becomes significantly reduced. So, they become unemployable. And what happens? You now have that vicious cycle. They’re not functional.”
On the issue of drug testing, Alausa said, “You also said something very important about the drug test policy in tertiary institutions. We will do it.
“We have to do it. We do not have a choice. At least, we’ll start with tertiary institutions, for their fresh and returning students as well as random testing.”
He also announced plans to create a Substance Use Prevention Unit within the ministry and confirmed that work was already underway to revise the secondary school curriculum.
“I would suggest we form a technical working group, an inter-ministerial working group between our ministry and NDLEA,” Alausa said.
“As a result, I would also like to create a Substance Use Prevention Unit in the ministry. We’re reviewing the curriculum now for secondary school. And that’s why I’ve asked the Director of Senior Secondary School to come, to be here and then we find a way to cascade it down to primary school.
“We need to incorporate both primary and secondary schools into their curriculum. But the one for secondary school, we can do that now. We’re currently developing their new curriculum.
“Also, on the stand-alone school programmes, I agree with you fully. We should also design ongoing programmes in our schools. That we can roll out, and cascade down.”
The minister further pledged to collaborate with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to support the NDLEA Academy in Jos, Plateau State.