/PNA
MANILA — Educating students on the dangerous implications of illegal drugs would veer the youth away from them and eventually address the demand side of the drug problem, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Friday.
“The government’s Preventive Drug Education (PDE) program provides for drug education for each grade level from Kindergarten to Grade 12, aligned with the main curriculum, but it allows schools to introduce preventive drug education in other subject areas,” he said in a briefing in Malacañang.
Nograles said the Department of Education (DepEd) will take the lead in developing the curriculum, which includes life skills for drug abuse prevention and anti-illegal drugs topics.
“DepEd is also now developing an updated comprehensive supplemental PDE material in cooperation with DOH (Department of Health), DDB (Dangerous Drugs Board) and other expert resource persons, which will be a major source material for curriculum integration, co-corricular programs, teachers’ capacity building, and parents’ awareness and education. This will be rolled out in the coming school year,” he said.
Aside from the PDE, Nograles cited the Barkada Kontra Droga program, under which, students and parents engage in extra-curricular activities.
“(The) emphasis will be on co-curricular activities, such as art contests, the observance of Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Week, putting up of the National Drug Education Program Corners, and the conduct of Parenting Seminars and Counseling/Coaching services,” he said.
Nograles said they are also looking at the possibility of allowing qualified uniformed personnel to teach drug abuse resistance among students.
He reiterated the “whole-of-government” approach in dealing with such issues as illegal drugs.
Combatting illegal drugs is one of the major campaign promises of President Rodrigo R. Duterte when he ran for office in 2016.
