Student body lambasts random drug testing in school

A student body has lashed out against a college which submitted students to drug tests, saying that teachers should also be tested.

Two classes at Ettelbrück agricultural college underwent urine tests for illegal drugs at the end of November last year.

Students at the Conférence Nationale des Elèves du Luxembourg (CNEL) this week criticised the measures, saying that it places all students under general suspicion of having consumed illegal drugs.

According to a CNEL press release, students who refused to undergo the tests faced disciplinary action by the school. As a result, 36 students were forced to give samples, leading to the detection of illegal substances in 14 students.

CNEL raised concerns about the efficacy of the tests made, saying that cannabis is detectable over a long period after consumption and that the actual time of consumption is difficult to determine.

“It is therefore very important to distinguish between cannabis consumption before, during and outside of school hours. In the latter, it is not a matter for the school to hold students accountable for what they do outside of school hours,” CNEL said in a statement.

The drug tests were defended by education minister Mady Delvaux Stehres earlier this month, who said that they were within the law. However, CNEL is questioning the legality of the measures because the parents of minors must always give consent.