Teachers trained to handle kids affected by drug abuse

Coimbatore: The PG and research department of social work, Hindusthan College of Arts and Science, in collaboration with National Institute of Social Defence, ministry of social justice and empowerment, organized a 3-day capacity building programme on ‘Children Affected by Drug Abuse’ for School teachers and counsellors from September 18-20. The programme sought to improve knowledge of school teachers and counsellors working with children affected by drug abuse. It also conducted in-service training sessions for teachers. About 40 teachers and counsellors participated in the programme.Rooban Shankar Raj, project director, DRDA, who was the chief guest, said there was a need to formally educate teachers and counsellors on handling children who had fallen prey to drug abuse by following proper procedures. “Almost 10 cases of suicides a day are due to drug abuse,” he said.M Punitha, head of the department, said drug abuse was growing problem in India, which will affect the nation’s development. tnn