CHENNAI: The School Education Department has directed all schools to furnish an annual report on the activities done by anti-drug clubs (ADC).
Formed in November 2024 as part of the Chief Minister's Drug Free Tamil Nadu programme, the clubs aimed to address the issue of growing use of drugs among school children and to nip it in the bud.
The report must contain the total number of ADCs started till date, activities conducted every fortnight, the total activities conducted by NCC/NSS during the fortnight, total students' participation and the number of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDCS) hotspots identified near educational institutions and reported to police.
Additionally, the report should also have details on the number of guest seminars held under ADC at each school, visits to de-addiction centres, police and fire stations, and pamphlet distribution for creating awareness.
Commenting on this, a government school teacher said, "Frankly, it is doubtful if the ADC activities were diligently followed by all schools. In addition to seeking the report, the department should scrutinise if these activities were actually conducted. On the other hand, most teachers are overloaded with work; hence, the department should eliminate trivial activities so that focus is given on vital activities like ADC."
A teacher from a Greater Chennai Corporation school admitted that such activities were seldom held in most GCC schools.
Earlier, the department had issued a notification detailing the steps to be taken to ensure the efficient implementation of the ADC initiative in schools for students from classes 6 to 12. It provided guidelines to be followed while organising activities under the aegis of these clubs and instructed district Chief Education Officers (CEOs) to issue orders to school principals in this regard.
The guidelines said schools have to organise events to brainstorm on drugs in the morning assembly on Tuesdays for students from classes 6 to 12. Students can be made aware of the dangers of narcotics through speech, poetry, posters, songs, and Thirukkural stories.
The district education officer (primary) was asked to plan and conduct awareness training for students in all government, aided, and private schools from classes 6 to 12, and submit a report every fortnight, stated the notification.