Education Ministry Secretary of State Sorin Ion said Monday night that students will not be mass-screened for drug use in schools, but that a panel will decide whether a student will be tested or not. .but with the consent of his parents or with his consent if he has reached the age of majority. According to News.ro, a national action plan involving several ministries will be created to test and monitor students for drug use.

“A joint action plan is implemented at the beginning of each academic year, but what is new this year is that this plan expands the range of partners involved. What we’re going to do as we develop this plan is we’re going to create the regulatory framework that’s necessary for drug testing, because we all know that’s the topic of the day, drug testing in schools. We are not going to set it through a national plan, which is ultimately a partnership agreement between ministries, but through a regulation,” Sorin Ion said on Medika TV on Monday night.

Sorin Ion explained that the testing will be conducted under confidential conditions.

“We are talking about possible testing under conditions of confidentiality, with the consent of the parents of underage students or the consent of an adult student, because at the moment I do not think that the question of forced testing stands. This is out of the question. We are at the beginning of the journey with the debate about testing in schools. This will not be regulated by a joint national action plan, but by regulations, such as a joint order of the ministries involved,” Sorin Ion also stated.

According to him, “it is important that we realize the seriousness of things, we do not try to hide the obvious problem and we are determined, all involved institutions, to contribute to the correction of the problem.”

“I don’t know, I wouldn’t want to fantasize and talk about a complete solution to this problem, but we can certainly all contribute to reducing and monitoring this problem,” the state secretary added.

Sorin Ion also emphasized that the procedure for teachers’ actions in cases of violence in schools has been established.

“It should also be said that these days we in the Ministry of Education have approved the procedure for the work of educational units in cases of violence, and when I say violence, I mean all types of violence, that it is violence caused by drugs, that it is bullying. , that it is physical or mental abuse or regardless of its type, and we have established clear procedures, what the principal does, what the school principal does, what the partners do in this situation,” Ion explained.

When asked whether all children in schools will be tested for drug use, the Secretary of State explained that there will be no mass testing.

“These are different ideas. We discuss possible testing within the visible manifestations of drug-using behavior. There is no question of mass testing. We all know what we went through during the covid period with the testing of children, we also know the resistance of the system and do not suggest doing something like that. Currently, there is a working idea on the table of the involved ministries,” Sorin Yon added.

Also, when asked who will determine which student will be tested, Sorin Ion answered that the decision will be made collegially.

“At the level of each educational unit, there is a violence prevention commission. This committee will be expanded and working groups will be created with participants from all areas of interest so that this decision is made by one person, the principal or teacher decides that he wants student X to be tested. This should be a collective decision,” Sorin Ion explained. (News.ro)

In search of a legislative framework

Prime Minister Marcel Čolaku is pushing the idea of ​​giving parents the opportunity to test their minor children for drug use through family doctors, with the state paying for the testing.

The idea was floated by Interior Minister Katelin Predoyu, who said the possibility of testing students by medical staff in schools for drugs if “they clearly demonstrate behaviour” is being analysed. characteristic of drug consumption”. The minister noted that such testing will be conducted only with the consent of the parents.

• On the same topic: Prefect of the capital: Students start using drugs at the age of 13 / There will be no general testing in schools / Two initiatives