Education Minister says university students will undergo drug testing
Education Minister says university students will undergo drug testing
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has endorsed the implementation of mandatory and random drug integrity tests for students in tertiary institutions nationwide.
This development comes after a meeting held on Wednesday in Abuja with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), where both officials explored strategies to tackle substance abuse among students.
According to a statement by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the minister also approved the review of the current secondary school curriculum to include updated drug education. He further pledged to establish an inter-ministerial working group in collaboration with the NDLEA.
Babafemi noted that the NDLEA chief proposed a three-part strategy: updating drug education in school curricula, introducing dedicated drug abuse prevention programmes in secondary schools, and enforcing a drug testing policy in tertiary institutions. This policy would apply to new and returning students, as well as include random testing.
Marwa described the drug scourge as a threat to national security and youth development, citing its links to criminal activities such as terrorism and banditry.
He disclosed that the agency had arrested over 40,000 drug offenders and seized more than 5,500 metric tonnes of drugs in the past two years.
“We are fighting for the souls of our children. Without drugs, many criminal activities would not be possible,” he said.
Responding, Alausa acknowledged the urgency of the problem, stating: “When the youths get into drugs, they won’t go to school, and even when they go to school, they are not getting a functional education.
“At the end of the day, what happens? Their level of critical thinking is lower.
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Their ability to make informed decisions in the later part of their life becomes significantly reduced. So, they become unemployable.
“And what happens? You now have that vicious cycle. They’re not functional.”
The minister stated that drug tests for fresh and returning students in tertiary institutions would be done.
He said, “You also said something very important about the drug test policy in tertiary institutions. We will do it.
“We have to do it. We do not have a choice. At least, we’ll start with tertiary institutions, for their fresh and returning students as well as random testing.”
Dr. Tunji Alausa has announced the establishment of a Substance Use Prevention Unit within the Ministry of Education, confirming that work is already underway to revise the secondary school curriculum.
During the meeting, Alausa proposed forming a technical and inter-ministerial working group between the Ministry and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to strengthen collaboration on drug prevention.
He stated, “I propose setting up a technical working group—a joint inter-ministerial body between our ministry and the NDLEA. Alongside that, I intend to establish a Substance Use Prevention Unit within the ministry.”
Alausa explained that efforts are ongoing to review the secondary school curriculum, with plans to integrate drug education at both the primary and secondary school levels. He noted the presence of the Director of Senior Secondary Education at the meeting as part of the initiative to ensure a smooth rollout.
“We are currently updating the curriculum for secondary schools and plan to extend these changes to primary schools as well,” he said. “I also fully support the idea of stand-alone school programmes focused on drug prevention. These should be continuous and scalable across schools.”
In addition, the minister pledged to collaborate with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to provide support for the NDLEA Academy located in Jos, Plateau State.
