PANAJI: Opposition leaders Amit Patkar and AAP MLA Venzy Viegas have slammed a directive issued by Education Director Shailesh Zingde directing schools to ensure that areas within a 500-metre radius of their campuses are maintained as “drug-free zones”.
The Directorate of Education issued the circular on Thursday, directing heads of government, government-aided and unaided secondary and higher secondary schools, as well as special schools, to take immediate action based on a recommendation of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Ministry of Home Affairs.
“The school heads shall ensure that the area within a radius of 500 meters from the school premises is maintained as a Drug-Free Zone,” the circular states.
Reacting to the directive, former GPCC president Amit Patkar questioned how principals and headmasters could enforce such a requirement beyond their institutional premises. “What authority does a principal have beyond the school compound? Can a principal direct the police or other agencies? What power does a school headmaster have?” Patkar asked.
He alleged that the directive was an attempt by the government to shift responsibility for tackling the drug menace onto school authorities. “Yesterday’s circular from the Education Director proves one thing: drugs have reached schools, higher secondary schools and colleges,” Patkar said.
Patkar also questioned the 500-metre limit, asking whether the directive implied that drugs could be sold outside the designated zone. “If you say there has to be a 500-metre drug-free zone, what happens at 501 metres? Can drugs be sold there?” he asked.
He alleged that the government had failed to effectively control the drug trade and said enforcement should focus on how drugs enter Goa rather than placing the responsibility on school heads.
Meanwhile, AAP MLA Venzy Viegas also demanded that the circular be withdrawn and corrected.
“So that means drugs are available in Goa 500 metres away from all educational institutions?” Viegas asked. “500 metres from the school is a drug-free zone, beyond that is a drug-available zone? I think this circular has to be withdrawn, has to be corrected, and some justification has to be given,” he added.
He said the government should work towards making the entire state drug-free instead of limiting the initiative to areas surrounding schools.
