Mangaluru: Newskarnataka.com will soon be organising a conclave of the heads of educational institutions to discuss and envision a world in which students are empowered to respect each other and choose to lead lives free from violence, and substance abuse.
For this purpose, we have conceived a project called ADATE – Anti-Drug Abuse Training and Education.
The hashtag for the project will be #LivesAndFuturesSaved.
Project ADATE is a substance use prevention education programme designed to equip students in schools and colleges with skills for decision-making, managing stress, and withstanding negative peer pressures to use tobacco, drugs and alcohol. ADATE will be implemented in association with the Centre for Narcotics & Psychotropic Substances (CNPS) of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education.
ADATE proposes to offer a highly structured, intensive curriculum developed by health education specialists, to teach students to raise their self-esteem, resist negative peer pressure, teach them how to make decisions on their own, and help them identify positive alternatives to substance use, including such life skills as assessing risks, making decisions, managing stress, recognizing and selecting alternatives to drug use, and knowing concrete strategies for saying no. An expert core group of health professionals, psychiatrists and psychologists drawn from the Medical Universities in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts will dedicate themselves to eradicate the drug menace that is gaining roots in the coastal belt of Karnataka.
The project will seek the strong support of the Mayor, District Collector Superintendent of police, Vice Chancellors of Universities, Principals of schools and colleges, to implement this project.
