12 Apr 2017

Factors such as alcohol and drug abuse as well as indulgence in sexual activities lead to teenage pregnancy in schools and also contribute negatively in students’ education, says an official from Kanye District Health Management Team (DHMT), Mr Celious Julius.

Mr Julius was speaking at a workshop concerning school dropouts due to alcohol and drug abuse held at Seepapitso Secondary School in Kanye on April 10.

He said alcohol and substance abuse posed a serious public health hazard as binge drinking gets more and more fashionable. He said all these happen because parents have distanced themselves from schools.

The health officer added that alcohol was the most widely used substance of abuse among the youth and that situation posed an enormous health and safety risk.

Students were reported to be abusing alcohol and drugs because of stress and peer pressure.

He said some of the bad factors included inconsistent condom use, poor adherence to medication, gender based violence, long term negative indications of health consequences.

He said too much alcohol and drug indulgence had negative consequences in the lives of adults such as pre-marital and unplanned pregnancies, domestic violence, and marital breakdown.

Police spokesperson, Ms Tebogo Ferguson said they were concerned about the use of drugs in secondary schools.

She said the students used cocaine, mandrax, ecstasy and dagga.

She said consumers of such substances bore the effects of aggressive behaviour, property damage, pregnancy, theft and commission of suicide.

Ms Ferguson highlighted that it was disheartening to find the educated out of school youth involved in drugs and alcohol abuse after government heavily invested in educating them yet they do nothing to contribute to developments.

The workshop was arranged by a Kanye musician, Mr David Leotoba popularly known as DJ Clippa in music circles.

Mr Leotoba said the workshop was to sensitise the youth on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse, which were a cause for concern.

He said the youth should make good choices in their lives if they wanted to shape the future ahead of them to become future leaders who could make Botswana proud.

He said he was concerned about the number of school dropouts and failure to achieve academic excellence as a result of using alcohol and drugs.

The theme of the workshop was "Say No To Alcohol and Drugs, Teenage Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS." ENDS