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Expanded drug tests to cover 6 million students


MANILA, Philippines - More schools will be added to the government's random drug test campaign so that more students will be covered, according to the Department of Education (DepEd). DepEd will move to add 7,700 more to the current 300 schools covered by the campaign, a "GMA Flash Report" quoted Education Secretary Jesli Lapus as saying on Thursday. Once implemented, an estimated six million students from a total of about 8,000 schools will be covered by the testing. Lapus said the testing would be done in two stages – a first drug test and a second confirmatory one. If students test positive for illegal drugs in both stages, they would undergo a three-month anti-drug counselling to totally cut off their dependence on narcotics. Lapus had earlier assured the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) that the testing would not violate students' rights against self-incrimination and privacy. Clarifying that it would not be compulsory, Lapus said that a random drug test would an effective measure to promote the government’s anti-drug campaign. The DepEd’s expansion plan comes on the heels of the Department of Health’s (DOH) suggestion to update the list of illegal drugs being detected in the government’s drug testings. The DOH said that instead of detecting only shabu and marijuana – as is normally done – students should also be tested for the presence of other drugs like cocaine, Ecstasy, and barbiturates. The DOH however stressed that additional funding would be required for such revisions. - GMANews.TV
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