Students peddling drugs to classmates, say teachers

STUDENTS are acting as drug couriers and every pupil knows where to buy illegal substances, a teachers’ conference heard yesterday.

Tough laws are restricting schools from expelling students who sell drugs to other teenagers, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland annual convention in Limerick heard yesterday.

A debate on the problem of student discipline heard that classrooms are being ruled by those who are taking and selling drugs, being violent towards teachers and disruptive in many other ways.

Dublin delegate Larry McGuinness highlighted a recent case in which a school had expelled a fifth-year student for peddling drugs.

“The school is now going to have to take him back after an appeal because there was a flaw in their drugs policy,” said Mr McGuinness.

“We should refuse to provide a free child-minding service for parents. We are professional educators, not juvenile delinquent detention officers,” he said.

The union’s honorary national organiser, Noel Buckley said everybody was more conscious of their rights and the law was coming down very heavily on the side of students and parents.

“We need to test the legislation to its limits because learning can’t continue in a disordered environment. Our culture is changing and we need to keep up to speed with the fact that we’re dealing with economically independent teenagers today,” he said.

ASTI president-elect Pat Cahill said children were coming into class on Mondays suffering from hangovers from drink and drugs, often paid for by part-time jobs.

“In all schools, there are boys and girls in the courier trade, and everybody else knows where to buy drugs. Many of these children go through school but end up heroin addicts, even those from the best of families,” he said.

Margaret Moore, an ASTI central executive member, said while teachers had a duty of care to their students, many were faced with harassment, intimidation and violence on a daily basis.

“The Department of Education and school boards have a duty of care to teachers, which means we must be protected from students who are dangerous and criminal,” she said.

Teachers have cited student behaviour as the main cause of stress and the ASTI has asked Education Minister Noel Dempsey to issue new policies to schools and advise teachers on how to address these problems.