The Minister for Policing and Communications, Ioane Naivalurua, has met with the Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro, to strengthen school-based advocacy initiatives in response to growing concerns over drug use among students.
Discussions centred on the need for early, targeted and sustained intervention, including the identification of so-called red-zone schools that would benefit from more intensive advocacy and prevention programmes. Both Ministers agreed that proactive engagement at the school level is critical in addressing emerging risks facing young people.
Proposed measures included stronger involvement of the Fiji Police Force in school advocacy programmes, the dissemination of daily community policing messages through selected radio platforms, the use of billboards to reinforce drug-free messaging, and the re-establishment of the Domonivuli programme to raise awareness of the dangers of drug use.
The Ministers also noted emerging social concerns, including student involvement in drug selling, as well as the use of drugs for sports performance enhancement and recreational purposes.
School principals were encouraged to take leadership roles in addressing these issues, with government schools expected to lead by example. Additional proposals discussed included reviewing the school curriculum to better address drug-related issues, introducing counselling programmes in schools, and strengthening monitoring mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of existing advocacy efforts.
Both Ministers reaffirmed the importance of a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to guide students towards positive futures and safeguard the wellbeing of young people nationwide.