?The fact is that schools do not have it in their power to stop smoking, drinking, sex or poor eating patterns. They do have it in their power to improve student knowledge and skills and to encourage the development of defensible values.?

(Wilson, introduction to ?School based education for drug abuse prevention handbook?)

Education lists among the top priorities of society. Yet, if we refer to the state of our community, it can safely be concluded that we either have not understood the true meaning of education or, else, that we are not drawing the best out of it. The idea of education as a mere means of obtaining a formal qualification goes as far back as in the early 20th century, when, for instance, Rabindranath Tagore regretted: ?We are made to tread the mill of passing examinations, not for learning anything, but for notifying that we are qualified for employment.? He further added that the product of education seemed to sum up to certificates.

Hence education is a much larger concept. Derived from the latin ?educare?, it implies the idea of raising, training, rearing and grooming into responsible citizens capable of cooperating with each other in harmony. Recent statistics confirming a significant rise in juvenile delinquency between 2005 and 2006 and findings of Mauritius Institute of Health stating that 1 out of 5 secondary school students has a drug issue seriously questions the real value of education we provide both at home and at school.

It would be as suicidal as it would be criminal not to bring about rapid changes in the way we perceive education. Besides, appropriate actions to stop the haemorrhage of our universal values are most desirable if we want our educational system to weigh its worth.

Our children spend considerable time at school. This obviously contributes to the building of their personality and social skills. Though the question of harmful drugs is addressed in Chapter 4, Biology Section of the Form II book Discovering science, it does not seem to be effective in discouraging drug abuse on its own. It might, however, be an excellent complement to an elaborate drug prevention program.

Such a program, carried out within school premises would be most desirable. It would enforce the idea that drugs are dangerous and outdated, contributing to an automatic rejection of narcotics and the like. The United Nations office on drugs and crime has published a most interesting handbook entitled ?School-based education for drug abuse prevention? on the subject.

Additionally earmarking periods to debate upon social, existential and human issues would definitely help in building moral values so important in adopting the right behaviour while refusing the wrong choices in life. There might also be a need to make an audit of the quality of authority and discipline in schools. While it is a good thing to have students? and parents? opinions on some issues, the ultimate decision should come from the authorities.

Any situation, which contributes in giving a different perception, might undermine those responsible for running schools. Therefore, schools should be allowed to apply their rules and regulations even if some are not agreeable with them in so far as they are legal and human. The ultimate qualification we expect from schools is to help build the nation by teaching the art of cooperation. This will only be possible, if education endeavours even more to teach the unequivocal rejection of a culture of sex, violence and addiction.

<B>Alain JEANNOT</B>