A MONTH-LONG campaign to tackle drug abuse and unplanned pregnancies among secondary school students is underway in Muhanga District.

The campaign seeks to educate the youngsters on the consequences of drugs and pregnancies and the best ways to avoid falling into the trap, officials said. 

The campaign, which kicked off about three weeks ago, targets 58 secondary schools and more than 13,000 students in the district, Valerien Hakizimana, the officer in-charge of education, said. 

"We decided to introduce this campaign because we wanted to educate our students on this issue and initiate them in advance,” he explains. 

He refuted claims that the campaign might have been initiated because of reports of alarming use of alcohol and cases of pregnancies among teenagers, noting that the district recorded only four cases of teenage pregnancies this year.  

No case of drug abuse was reported, he added.

Students who talked to this paper blamed the vice on poverty, unemployment among the youth and influence of Western literature and film. 

Some students, however, blamed the vice on poor upbringing and called on parents to do more.

"Some parents abuse drugs and their children think it is ‘cool’ and end up imitating the parents,” said Habintwali, a senior six sciences student at College St Marie Reine.