Drunk in class - One in 10 students report going to school inebriated or under influence of drugs, survey finds

Jamaica’s classrooms are facing an unsettling challenge, with one in every 10 high-school students reporting that they have gone to school drunk, while a similar proportion say they have turned up under the influence of marijuana or other drugs.

The finding is among several troubling revelations from the latest Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS), which paints a concerning picture of the health and well-being of Jamaica’s adolescents, including poor dietary habits, declining physical activity, and worsening mental health indicators.

“One in 10 students report that they went to school drunk, and one in 10 went to school under the influence of other drugs, which is probably more likely to be marijuana, but other drugs were included,” said Uki Atkinson, analyst at the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA).

The findings come even as the NCDA reports an overall decline in alcohol and cannabis use among teenagers, which it has attributed to increased sensitisation and outreach activities among students and young adults locally.

“We are seeing a decline in alcohol and cannabis use and an emergence, early though it may be, of Molly and ecstasy use,” Atkinson said.

The survey found that 24.3 per cent of students reported easy access to marijuana, while 5.5 per cent said they had used ecstasy or Molly during the previous year. Meanwhile, 10.6 per cent reported seeing, hearing or reading alcohol advertisements.

CAUSE FOR CONCERN

The GSHS was conducted among 3,058 students age 13 to 17 in 32 high schools between January and March. It examined nine areas, including substance use, diet, physical activity, mental health, sexual behaviour, violence and protective factors.

The dietary findings were also cause for concern.

Forty-one per cent of students reported eating no fruit during the seven days preceding the survey, while only 27 per cent said they ate vegetables once or more each day. Another 32 per cent reported eating salty foods or snacks at least once daily.

About half of the students said they drank soda at least once a day during the seven-day period.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said enforcement of the Government’s school nutrition policy, which restricts the sale of sugary drinks in schools, depends heavily on school leadership.

“The ministries’ mandate and policy is very clear – both health and education – and indeed the Government, about the elimination of sugary drinks beyond a certain level,” he said.

“There are schools that are fully compliant ... where the principals and the board are on top of it and push the enforcement; it happens. Unfortunately, there are cases where that leadership doesn’t pay as much attention.”

Tufton said the ministries of health and education conduct inspections, but acknowledged another challenge — vendors operating just outside school compounds.

“Those thriving businesses outside the fence continue to be a real challenge, maybe even a bigger challenge than enforcement on the compound,” he said, noting that addressing those individuals may require intervention from municipal corporations and other state agencies.

The survey also found that obesity among students has more than doubled, compared with 2010, while the proportion of underweight students increased from 2.1 per cent to 3.1 per cent.

Physical activity among adolescents has fallen by approximately four per cent, while many are also failing to get an average of eight hours of sleep each night.

Atkinson said the combination increases the risk of non-communicable diseases, mental health problems and poor school performance.

Mental health has also deteriorated, with increases since 2017 in the proportions of students seriously considering suicide, making suicide plans, and attempting suicide.

Meanwhile, only about four in 10 students said their parents knew what they were doing at all times, with a similar proportion saying their parents spent quality time with them.

“If we are not getting guidance from parents, we are getting guidance from other sources,” Atkinson warned. “Typically, when you have a PTA (parent-teacher association) meeting, the parents who you need don’t come, so maybe we need to find a way to get to those parents.”

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com