The Ministry of National Education warns of the spread of the drug “ecstasy” in schools, and reveals its plan to confront the situation

Agadir24

The Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports has warned of the spread of the drug “ecstasy” among students in Moroccan schools.

According to the Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Chakib Benmoussa, the results of the national survey on smoking and drug use in schools conducted in 2021 showed that the prevalence of ecstasy pill use among students between the ages of 15 and 17 ranges between 0.3% for females and 2.5% for males.

The Minister confirmed, in his response to a written question from the MP of the Progress and Socialism Group in the House of Representatives, Hassan Oumribet, that the Ministry has developed a plan to combat this phenomenon, based on the results of the aforementioned study.

According to Benmoussa, the ministry’s plan is based on a transversal approach through a set of approaches, including strengthening knowledge related to the dangers of smoking and drug abuse, by allocating lessons that carry a set of concepts related to this scourge to warn of its dangers, its multidimensional effects and consequences, as well as ways to overcome them.

The same plan, according to the Minister’s response, is based on the preventive approach, which targets awareness, education, listening and guidance as a parallel approach to reducing the phenomenon of drug abuse, where in this regard the peer education approach is adopted within health clubs and training in the field of transversal life skills related to combating drugs.

In parallel, the Ministry’s plan aims to enhance the capacities of the coordinators of the listening and mediation cells with the aim of strengthening their roles in the field of receiving female and male students in difficult circumstances, listening to their concerns and problems, and providing the necessary psychological support, guidance and supervision.

The Minister noted that efforts are being made to encourage the involvement of female and male students in cultural, artistic and creative activities in the school environment, in addition to stimulating a spirit of positive competition among them and highlighting their artistic and emotional talents and abilities, thus keeping them away from dangerous behaviours.

On the other hand, the ministry, according to Chakib Benmoussa, has strengthened its coordination with the security services, through the monitoring of mixed security teams around educational institutions, and the organization of combing campaigns around educational institutions in order to combat drug trafficking.