Don’t Charge Students Over Drug Test, Presidency Tells Schools

The Presidency has warned schools against charging students for drug tests, saying any school embarking on drug tests for students must do so without any monetary involvement.

The Presidency which lauded the reported collaboration of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA and the management of some higher institutions to conduct drug tests on their students, however, said the test must be made free for students.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagements, Sunday Asefon, said this, Thursday while answering questions from reporters during the unveiling of the Nigerian Students Flag and the Renewed Hope Students Agenda in Abuja.

Recall that the Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’allah had disclosed in October 2023, that students who intend to study in the university must undertake and present a drug test before admission.

He said the drug status of students was important to help students to be free from drugs.

But Asefon, who was reacting to reports that some higher institutions were charging students as high as N10,000 for drug tests, warned institutions engaging in such acts to immediately stop.

“Drug tests should be free. Any attempt by the management of any school or the NDLEA to inject pain in the lives of Nigerian students through one rule or the other shall be rejected in totality. If the idea of students undergoing drug tests by the NDLEA or the management of any school is for good, I commend them. But I condemn in totality the idea of asking them to pay money and I would work towards making sure that that doesn’t stand,” he said.

Earlier, Asefon rolled out the programmes he would initiate to ameliorate the plight of Nigerian students under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Among the initiatives are the Nigerian Student Leaders Regional Dialogue; the Annual International Students Day Celebration; the Annual All Nigerian Tertiary Institutions Students Affairs Conference and Local partnerships with embassies and international development organisations.

He explained that the Nigerian Student Leaders Regional Dialogue was aimed at “identifying and discussing students’ challenges on campuses, sensitisation on Students Loan Scheme, Social Investment as well as empowerment programme of the federal government.”

January 19, 2024