Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 Source: Turkish Daily News (Turkey) Copyright: 2007 Dogan Daily News Inc. Contact: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4397 SURVEY REVEALS DRUGS AND PROBLEMS IN TURKISH SCHOOLS Drug-abuse is common among students in one out of three high schools in Istanbul and in one out of four schools in Izmir, a recent survey conducted by teacher's union Egitim-Sen reveals. Teacher's Union Egitim-Sen presented a survey it conducted among high schools concerning the increasing number of violent incidents in schools to the Parliament's Investigation Commission. The survey conducted among 650 teachers in 250 Turkish schools revealed that in the past year, narcotic drugs were found in 12 percent of the schools, while synthetic pills with stimulant effects were found in 15 percent. The survey revealed that the percentage of schools where psychoactive pills were found was much higher in bigger cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir as well as those in the Mediterranean region. The survey found that pills were used in 26 percent of schools while narcotic drugs were used in 12 percent. Drug usage was encountered in one out of every three schools in Istanbul and one out of every four in Izmir. Punishing students: The survey found that administrators in 20 percent of the schools resort to cutting the student's hair as punishment. The rate is 33 percent in Istanbul schools, 25 percent in Ankara and 24 percent in state Anadolu high schools, where admission is possible only after passing challenging examinations. Ten percent of administrators and 18 percent of teachers in Turkey's schools walk around carrying sticks. Administrators walked with sticks most in vocational high schools. Teacher violence against students was found in 39 percent of schools. Violence in schools In the past year, 90.69 percent of students used obscene language when addressing each other, 88.18 percent had been in a fight while 88 percent smoked or were in possession of cigarettes. In three out of every four schools in Turkey, children fought outside the school and in one out of every four schools guns or knives were involved in these fights. Violence involving guns or knives occurred in 34.2 percent of Turkey's schools, with a frequency of at least once a week in 5 percent of schools. Verbal harassment of girls: Egitim-Sen's survey found out that 69.19 percent of male students verbally harassed girl students inside the school in the past year. The percentage of students involved in verbal threats or attacks on students from other schools was 75.37 percent while the percentage of students involved in physical threats or attacks against students from other schools was 48.02 percent. 56.37 percent of teachers were insulted while 20.30 percent were subject to physical threats from their students. 15.74 percent of teachers said they were seriously attacked at least once by students or by the families of students during their career. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake