By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The leadership of the Department of Education-Negros Island Region (Dep-NIR) said they will conduct random drug testing among the teaching staff in preparation for school openings next month.
DepEd-NIR Director Gilbert Sadsad said they want to investigate if there are teachers in the region who are actively using illegal drugs.
Sadsad said the random drug tests are also part of this year’s “Brigada Eskwela” and their office are now making the regulations, schedules, and the budget needed for the testing.
The Director also expressed the possibility of some educators engaging in illegal drug activities. This, he said, is the primary reason why random, instead of mandatory, drug tests will be performed.
Earlier, the DepEd central office in Manila said they will launch random drug testing among teachers and students once the new school year starts on June 5.
In a report by GMA News, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones said the random drug testing was part of DepEd’s “2017 Brigada Eskwela” program, which was formally launched at the Ramon Duterte Memorial National High School in Cebu on Monday.
“Brigada Eskwela” is the national schools’ maintenance week, and would also involve a clean-up drive, medical check-ups, and rehabilitation efforts for damaged schools./WDJ