Drug tests in schools not tokhang – DepEd

MANILA, Philippines - The random drug testing for students in public and private high schools will not be similar to Oplan Tokhang, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said yesterday.

“This is not tokhang,” Briones said, referring to the controversial campaign of the Philippine National Police against drug suspects.

The primary reason for the conduct of the drug tests is to determine the extent of drug use among students, she said.

 “We just want to find out the prevalence of illegal drug use. Some say it is alarming, some say it is not. So we have to find out what really is the status,” Briones said.

The Department of Education earlier released the guidelines for the conduct of drug testing in all public and private high schools to yield a 95-percent confidence level on the results.

Briones noted that the results of the previous random drug tests were questioned due to the small sample size.

She said the new program would cover as many as 60,000 students.

Briones said the students would not be subjected to humiliation if they test positive for drug use.

“Definitely, we will not release the names of the students, not even the names of the schools,” she said.

Based on the guidelines, the DepEd will guarantee and respect the personal privacy and dignity of the students. The results of the drug tests will be treated with utmost confidentiality, the agency said.

Briones said a positive drug test result would not be a ground for expulsion or disciplinary action and would not reflect on the students’ academic record or be used to incriminate the student for legal action.

“We have to inform the parents if their children are into drugs and something has to be done about it,” she said.

Students who test positive for drugs will be referred to a social worker for counseling and other interventions.

The DepEd said parents may also enlist the students in a private drug rehabilitation center.

“If the student shows no signs of improvement or recovery, or fails the drug test for the second time, a Department of Health-accredited facility or physician can make a recommendation to the student, parent or drug testing coordinator to have the student referred to a facility,” read the DepEd guidelines.