Dina Joni and Khalfan Al Naqbi (Dubai)
The Ministry of Education keeps pace with the global trends issued by UNESCO and the World Health Organization regarding the protection of students from narcotics and psychotropic substances, by issuing an integrated guide, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, to raise awareness in the school environment towards common beliefs that, on the one hand, mitigate the dangers of narcotics, cannabis and sedatives In return, it promotes the illusion of the feeling of happiness that these materials give, and the physical and intellectual abilities that they multiply.
The matter does not stop at awareness campaigns, introducing old and new narcotic substances, and creating a home and social protection system that incubates and monitors the categories of students most vulnerable to falling into the drug trap. Rather, the evidence focuses on the importance of the school environment and activities that enhance physical, social and leadership skills, to enable students to face the surrounding temptations to take substances. The KHDA focuses in its strategy on enhancing the quality of life for students by collecting scientific data to monitor the various axes that affect the well-being of students at school and at home. In the Regulation of Student Behavior Management issued by the Emirates Foundation for School Education, three items were included that are directly related to the use of narcotics, smoking and the use of illegal means of communication. Smoking inside the school campus and possession of its utensils are considered violations of medium severity, for which eight grades are awarded to the student. Possession, bringing, promoting, or using narcotics, narcotic medical drugs, or psychotropic substances inside the school or bus, or appearing under the influence of narcotics or non-prescription drugs, are among the highly dangerous fourth-degree violations, which, if repeated, lead to the final dismissal of the student from schoolhouse. As well as for the use of social media for illegal purposes.
Read also: Drugs .. a scourge that steals the spring of our youth!
9 turns
The Ministry has identified 9 roles for the school in the “Guide to Preventing Drugs in the School Environment”.
First: To carry out awareness-raising activities, in coordination with the competent authorities, on the harms of narcotics and smoking, the reasons for falling into them, the laws and procedures followed in the Emirates to combat these substances, the importance of exercising, and following a healthy diet.
Second: Developing students’ life skills such as decision-making, problem-solving, social skills, investing free time, and dealing with life stresses.
Third: Monitoring and following-up attempts to promote narcotics in or around the school.
Fourth: Observing and revealing negative behaviors of students and indicators that may indicate abuse, and providing early intervention.
Fifth: Providing support to students at risk of drug abuse by addressing the surrounding risk factors, and providing student counseling services.
Sixth: Coordination with the concerned authorities to provide training opportunities for educational and administrative cadres in the field of student counseling and combating smoking and narcotics
Seventh: Building effective relationships with parents to solve the problems surrounding students
Eighth: Consolidating moral values for students
Ninth: Supporting students in community participation and voluntary work
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Hind Al Mualla
digital quality of life
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai applies preventive strategies in order to support the quality of life of students, by collecting scientific data through a questionnaire, considered the first in the world, and implemented five years ago, in cooperation with the Department of Education and Child Development in South Australia.
Hind Al Mualla, Head of Creativity, Happiness and Innovation at the authority, told Al-Ittihad: “The authority focuses on improving the quality of life of students, including the quality of digital life, especially in light of the diversity and intensity of technology uses in the daily lives of us as individuals.”
Al-Mualla pointed to the concerted efforts of all concerned institutions to raise awareness in the educational community about the quality of life, including the digital quality of life for students, as the authority works with its partners in the “Aqdar” program, which aims to enhance community participation and immunize the younger generations with the challenges that they may face within classroom and beyond. The “Together We Rise” series of forums focused on monitoring and disseminating positive stories and successful practices of private schools related to aspects and elements of quality of life, as well as launching periodic awareness-raising workshops for parents about positive upbringing of children and linking it to aspects of quality of life.
She added: “From this perspective, the comprehensive survey of students’ quality of life in private schools in Dubai covers a number of aspects closely related to the quality of digital life for students, and also measures the extent to which students are able to build positive relationships with adults at school and at home. The survey works in instilling a culture of quality of life among students and the educational community, and spreading awareness about it.
One of the objectives of the “Aqdar” initiative of the Khalifa Student Empowerment Program is to educate all segments of society about the various dangers of accessing prohibited materials on the Internet, directing students to the safe and positive use of electronic devices and avoiding their dangers, and familiarizing them with the laws of the UAE for cybercrime and legal penalties for each type. These crimes, and the program provided more than 2,000 lectures, trained more than 250,000 trainees and more than 17,000 teachers and parents in cooperation with strategic partners.
Stick to the Five No’s
No to illegal drugs
I don’t want to end up in prison
I don’t want to disappoint me
No, my life is better without drugs
I don’t want to ruin my health
The United Nations and the World Health Organization: Social skills reduce the risk of drug abuse
In a report issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, entitled “Global Standards for Drug Prevention”, the extent of the profound impact of the media on the psychological and social development of young people was discussed, and it pointed to the contribution of popular culture from music, films and celebrities to the start of “Dangerous” behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco use.
There are several possible mechanisms that explain this effect, including the desire to acquire the traits that distinguish celebrities, or to imitate behaviors prevalent through social networks, and the report notes that the “unique neurodevelopmental context of young people” makes them especially vulnerable to the influence of popular culture, which means that their actions and behaviors Not just a consequence of health illiteracy, and he called for the need for more research into the effectiveness of counter-media campaigns.
Among the highlights of the report are the results of implementing school and extra-curricular activities, as well as extra-curricular activities, which included training in social skills, which led to reduced delinquency, reduced alcohol and drug use and reduced school drop-out rate, based on evidence collected in low and middle countries. income.
“UNESCO”: Poor performance, participation in school, and dropping out
In a paper issued by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization “UNESCO” issued in 2018, it was pointed out that tobacco is often the first substance used by adolescents, as one in four students between the ages of 13 and 15 reported that they smoked cigarettes for the first time before the age of ten, and what begins In some countries, 70-90% of people who inject drugs do so before the age of 25, while the prevalence of ecstasy use by adolescents is less than 1% in most countries. The organization referred to the increase in the use of new stimulants and psychotropic substances, or psychoactive substances, which are not controlled by United Nations conventions, and are known in the market by terms such as “designer substances”, “herbal starches”, “research chemicals” and others. . The latter poses a particular threat because some young people consider these materials to be safer than others because they are legal, easily accessible and often come in branded packaging. She said: Tobacco and substance abuse in adolescence is associated with a wide range of negative effects on the mental and physical health of young people, as well as on their quality of life in the short and long term.
It also leads to a number of education-related consequences, including poor performance and participation in school, and dropouts.
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