The Anti-Drug Club of Stella Matutina College of Education bagged the third prize in the Chennai District Awards
When the Tamil Nadu government made it mandatory that every educational institution have an Anti-Drug Club, Stella Matutina College of Education in Ashok Nagar already had an initiative that was aligned with the objectives of government-mandated club.
The 54-year-old institution offers B.Ed., M.Ed., M. Phil, and Ph.D. programmes and the teachers in the making were aware of the risk of school students getting hooked on drugs.
In 2024, they conducted a survey among school children to understand how aware they were about drug abuse. The exercise also tested the effectiveness of a structured drug awareness programme designed for school children.
The programme’s goal was to identify knowledge gaps in the drug education being provided at schools.
A total of 108 secondary school students from multiple institutions in Chennai district were covered in this sample survey.
“Some of our recommendations included a uniform programme for all students regardless of gender or region; the need to have a special focus on low-income families and government schools; the importance of using engaging tools such as videos, street plays, posters and digital media,” says C. Sasikala, assistant professor, Stella Matutine College of Education and one of the authors of the study, to be published soon on the college’s website.
They also recommended parent involvement, especially in vulnerable communities, and the need to allocate dedicated funds for awareness campaigns in schools.
Since then, the institution has launched a variety of activities such as mime, skits and rallies at the schools they engage with.
“For instance, our second year students have to compulsorily go on an internship with a school, so we made it mandatory that they conduct an event in the assembly for at least a week to let students know why awareness on this topic is important,” says Sasikala.
The students pursuing education programmes at the college are currently engaged with 45 schools in Chennai. The teachers in the making also have to present a report on the activities they conducted in the schools.
The institution brings experts to talk to their students and have also invited schools they thought need some hand holding to their campus to offer workshops.
Sr. M. Irudhaya Mary, principal, Stella Matutine College of Education, says the efforts by the institution stand out as they have been consistent.
“Two times in a month we conduct a programme, sometimes it extends to three. Once in three months, students take an oath. These are future teachers and getting them to work for the betterment of society is one of the gains from this initiative,” says Sr. Mary.
She says they collect feedback to measure the success of these initiatives and to see how they can adapt.
Published – November 27, 2025 07:30 pm IST
