Take pro-active steps against drug abuse: UGC to varsities

The University Grants Commission has asked varsities and colleges to take pro-active steps to make students stay away from intoxicants.
In a letter to Vice Chancellors, UGC secretary Jaspal S Sandhu said that Universities should take the pro-active steps not only to make the youth live a healthy life but also stay away from the addiction of intoxicants.
"The youth are becoming highly dependent on drugs and substances which are not only ruining their academic career but it is a financial burden on their families," the senior UGC official said.
It is the "moral" duty of educational institutions and the UGC to make students aware of the ill-effects of drug addiction, he said in the letter.

Expressing hope that Universities have incorporated informative inputs on aspects of drug abuse in curricula of various programmes, he said organising orientation programmes targeting freshers would also serve as an effective instrument of positively structuring their education.
Institutions may also use opportunities like annual day, cultural festivals and even convocation days to underscore the ills of addiction, the letter added.