If the government is to promote urine testing in schools, the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) would need to be amended, the Ministry of Education said.
The ministry made the remarks in response to Minister of the Interior Yeh Chun-jung (葉俊榮), who proposed the idea in a radio interview.
The Ministry of Education’s department of student affairs and special education committee member Liu Chia-chen (劉家楨) said that Article 33 of the act stipulates that urine tests can only be performed on specific people, and with regard to schools it covers those with a history of drug abuse; students who have dropped out of school and resumed studies before reaching the age of maturity; school staff suspected of drug abuse due to evidence; minors whose parents have requested such tests be performed; and school bus drivers.
Aside from those outlined, no one is obligated by law to undergo urine testing at schools, Liu said.
Statistics showed that fears about the rampant use of narcotics in schools are unfounded, Liu said, adding that last year only 1,749 students tested positive for drugs across all grades.
Urine tests are less effective at tracing narcotics three days after the last drug use, Liu said, adding that the Ministry of Education has instituted school-wide tests with few positive test results.
More than 90 percent of students using drugs do so outside of school, Liu said.
Narcotics prevention efforts should target gangs and narcotics distributors to cut off supplies, Liu added.
As for claims that educational facilities tried to keep student drug use quiet, Liu said that drug use in schools are not immediately reported to police.
However, such cases are to be immediately reported to the Ministry of Education when discovered, as per the ministry’s orders, Liu said, adding that failure to report would contribute toward negative points in the school deans’ ranking for that year.
The Humanistic Education Group criticized Yeh’s proposed policy, saying that it violates human rights and “treats students like drug addicts.”
Parent unions also voiced concerns over potential breaches of personal privacy that could arise with changes to the policy.
Parent union group member Wang Li-sheng (王立昇) said that narcotics use is an issue that all parents are concerned about.
While official statements said only 1 percent of students in schools use drugs, teachers and other education experts estimate that as many as 30 to 40 percent of students have used drugs, Wang said.
“We hope the measures proposed by the Ministry of the Interior would help clarify the evident discrepancy, while finding the source of drugs,” Wang said.
Wang said there have been several technological advances that might be of help in conducting urine tests that would not violate students’ personal privacy, adding that he thought it was the best method.
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