School drug tests on

DRUG testing at schools is to begin in the Eastern Cape next month.

Shaheed Shaik, the national education department's certified trainer for drug testing workshops, said yesterday he will begin training teachers at Eastern Cape schools on October 26.

Random drug testing at 89 of the province's schools will start in November.

Shaik, who developed the drug- testing models with the education department, said schools in other provinces needed to follow suit.

"It will take about two months to prepare for this. I recommend that school authorities start working towards it immediately - so when new admissions come through next year, they are aware of the new process," said Shaik.

He was speaking at a school safety summit in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, yesterday

In 2006, he presented a model to the education department which showed how testing reduced the number of drug users at the school.

Using Shaik's model, Education Minister Naledi Pandor amended the law to allow random search and seizure and drug testing at schools.

Shaik said Gauteng and the Western Cape were in favour of drug testing, but had not yet decided when to undergo training to begin implementing the model.

Provincial departments fund the initiative, but not all educational authorities have shown interest in drug testing.

Shaik yesterday explained the benefits of testing to teachers, education officials and pupils at the summit

A study by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention, presented at the summit, shows that assault is more common in primary schools, and that primary school boys are more often victims of sexual assault.