Malaysia schoolchildren learn life skills to avoid drugs and HIV

Schoolchildren in Malaysia will soon be having lessons on how to prevent drug abuse and HIV infection. Secondary school teachers in the south east Asian country are being trained to teach personal and social development. hese ‘life skills’ are being introduced into schools nationwide as part of a project run by the United Nations Children’s fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Education.

Last year, 80 teachers had the training, which helped them reach out to at least 3,000 students with skills and values that help them take control of their lives. Drug abuse by secondary schoolchildren is a big public and official concern in Malaysia. Despite the country’s progress in child health and education, many children still find themselves living on the edge of society because of discrimination, stigma and prejudice. These marginalized children are in the highest-risk category for HIV infection. Injecting drug users are the biggest factor behind the spread of HIV and Aids in Malaysia. Ten per cent of Malaysia’s secondary school population has tried drugs, some of which may be addictive and all of which are illegal, according to figures from the country’s Centre for Drug Research (CDR).

“There is a serious problem of drug abuse without this problem reaching epidemic proportions,” a recent CDR report said. But it decided that the best way to treat the problem is through education, rather than demonising drugs. “The most damaging way society – parents, teachers, policy makers and others – could respond would be to see the issue as a social menace, without realizing the normal human motivations that have led the adolescent generation to use drugs; treat the curious and experimenting adolescent as reasonable individuals who can be educated,” the centre’s study of the Misuse of Drugs among Secondary School Children, said. Young people often start experimenting with illicit drugs as they move from being a child to an adult, UNICEF Malaysia representative, Youssouf Oomar said.

Two of the top reasons teenagers gave for using drugs were peer influence and curiosity, Malaysia’s national anti-drug agency reported in 2008. This kind of experimentation can lead to abuse, as young people are less able to weigh up the dangers or consequences of their behaviour. "If they have not properly developed their coping mechanisms or problem-solving skills, those who start out as simply 'experimenting' are likely to be more vulnerable to drug abuse," he said today announcing the life skills lessons. "Young people who start to do drugs for the first time are not aware that drugs can turn their world upside down," Mr Youssouf said. "Instead of leaving them vulnerable to fall into the trap of drugs, we need to guide them to lead healthy lifestyles. Young people have the right to information that will help them make responsible decisions.”

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children