CHENNAI: An old video of a brawl between a group of students at a government higher secondary school near Tiruttani in Tiruvallur has emerged recently, raising fresh concerns over discipline, student safety, and the need for stronger preventive interventions on drug usage among students.
According to official inputs, a few students were involved in a physical confrontation on the school premises. Following this, the school head has been transferred, and an official enquiry was also conducted with the students.
However, the old video has emerged recently, raising questions about students’ overall safety and their access to drugs and other narcotic substances. The incident assumes significance amid wider concerns over violence and substance abuse among school students in Tamil Nadu.
Almost a week ago, a video of two students of a government school allegedly consuming liquor inside the school premises in Kanniyakumari went viral on social media. This prompted serious questions about access to these substances.
To curb such incidents, the Tamil Nadu School Education Department, since 2024-25, has been seeking annual reports from schools on activities undertaken by Anti-Drug Clubs (ADCs), which were established in November 2024 under the Chief Minister’s Drug Free Tamil Nadu programme. Schools have been instructed to report fortnightly activities, student participation, awareness seminars and identification of narcotic-drug hotspots near educational institutions.
The guidelines also envisage awareness programmes for classes 6-12 through speeches, poetry, posters and other activities.