VILLUPURAM: As the pandemic had put students away from schools for nearly two years and exposed them to too much screen time, including internet, a few government teachers and parents say substance-abuse among young boys has gone up and authorities must intervene to end it.
Speaking to TNIE, S Dilip, a best-teacher awardee from Villupuram, said, "Students, particularly boys, have been excessively exposed to substance-abuse through contact with antisocial elements and its effect is evident in their behaviour on and off school campus. We, as teachers, have little scope to intervene when students step out of school. If higher secondary school students can be separated by creation of pre-university grade similar to the one in Karnataka, we could possibly reduce the bad influence of senior students on juniors."
A 45-year-old mother of a Class XI student in Villupuram said, "I have tried my best to talk him out of these drug habits but it is only growing by the day. Social media apps like WhatsApp are enabling them to get access to drug peddlers. My son gets aggressive if I intervene. Talking to schoolteachers too is a problem.”
Villupuram Collector D Mohan told TNIE, "We are constantly tracking addiction issues among school children and taking measures to curb it in a discreet manner to prevent children from getting harmed. A detailed investigation is on and we will intensify our drive to end the menace soon.” Parents can always approach the district administration for help to rehabilitate their wards, he said.
Superintendent of Police N Sreenatha said the district police had set up special teams to monitor sale of drugs and arrest culprits. "We have also started a drive to inspect shops near schools to ensure that students don’t fall into substance abuse."