Counselling Works: 80% of College Students Testing Positive for Drugs Turn Clean in Mangaluru
The students were subsequently referred for counselling with the involvement of their colleges and parents.
Mangaluru: About 80 percent of the college students who had initially tested positive for drug use have tested negative in a follow-up screening, suggesting that counselling and intervention are helping students stay away from drugs, Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy said.
The police with the association of the college management had screened 8,310 students in 150 colleges across Mangaluru this year, (since January) of whom 98 tested positive for drug use. The students were subsequently referred for counselling with the involvement of their colleges and parents.
As part of a follow-up drive to verify the results and assess the impact of the intervention, police tested 50 of the students who had tested positive during the first phase.
Of them, 38 tested negative in the second round, while 12 continued to test positive.
“It is positive to see that about 80 percent of the students who tested positive initially have now tested negative. Parents and college management were advised to follow up the counselling of 12 who tested positive closely,” he said.
The Commissioner attributed the encouraging results to the cooperation of students, parents, college managements and the people of Mangaluru, and stressed the need for continued support to prevent students from returning to drug use.
