Parents enquiring about reported drug cases at colleges of interest before enrolling children in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Background checks of engineering colleges are now not just limited to knowing how good or bad its infrastructure or faculty are.An increasing number of parents are also enquiring about reported drug cases at their college of interest, before enrolling their children there.

Call it increased awareness on the subject, or a reaction to rising substance abuse among youngsters, parents are going the extra mile to know more about ‘campus culture’.“I received many such calls in the past few days from parents asking if they should admit their child to a particular college and whether I heard of students from the said college getting addicted to alcohol, cannabis, or other drugs,” said M Srinivas, a senior faculty member from a private engineering college.

“This year, the number of such enquiries has increased exponentially.”Faculty members said parents are more concerned when it comes to colleges located on the city outskirts, and most are taking the ‘safety-first’ approach. “These enquiries are mostly done through trusted circles. Parents are even more particular when children have to live away from them in a city hostel or room for education,” said Praveen Kumar L, another engineering faculty member.

Many now also prefer colleges in their vicinity to ensure their children don’t take to addictions such as drugs or alcohol. Psychologists and deaddiction therapists said this is a welcome trend as parents are ensuring their child is not in the an “environment” which might influence them to “try” drugs.“It’s good to see that parents are enquiring about what the college ‘culture’ is like. This will save the child a lot of trouble in future,” said Dr K Devika Rani, a de-addiction therapist who works with tri-commissionerates to counsel students and communities on substance abuse.Sandeep Shandilya, director of Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TSANB), said they are going to start a new initiative where they will be issuing certificates to educational institutions that they are “drug-free”.“We are encouraging colleges to notify that they are a drug-free campus or non-smoking zone so that they can carry out random tests on students to ensure the institute is drug-free. We will be issuing certificates following different parameters such as having anti-drug soldiers, a strict policy against substance use, among others,” Shandilya told TOI.