Perceptions of Stakeholders on the Causes of Drug Abuse among Primary School Learners in Shibuyunji District, Zambia

Abstract

Drug abuse among primary school learners has negatively affected their performance due to the fact that they absent themselves from school and lose concentration on academic related activities. This study’s objective was to determine stakeholders’ views and opinions about the causes of drug abuse on primary school-going children in Shibuyunji district. Qualitative data was gathered from four primary schools in the district, through interviews and focus group discussions. Results showed that stakeholders understood the meaning of drug abuse as well as its causes among primary school-going children in the district. Stakeholders stated that the main causes of drug abuse were peer pressure, lack of recreational facilities, curiosity and amusement, lack of parental guidance, availability of drugs in the area, and poverty. The study concluded that primary schools in the area can only be drug-free if parents, community leaders, and school authorities worked together to stem the vice. Among the things that needed to be done to curb the problem to embark on sensitisation programmes in the district among both learners and communities, provide facilities for recreation, enact, tighten and enforce school rules and regulations, and give learners enough school work to occupy their free time.