Philippines plans to conduct drug tests on college freshers

Philippines government plans to conduct drug tests on all college freshers, according to an official for the Commission on Higher Education.

"This was born out of the president's call to make campuses drug-free, because we see the pervasive effects of drug use," Julito Vitriolo, the executive director of the Commission on Higher Education, said.

Students who fail the test might have to go through rehabilitation before they resume their studies, Al Jazeera quoted a Filipino government official.

The move reinforces President Rodrigo Duterte's crusade against illegal drugs in the island country.

The drug issue was a centrepiece of Duterte's election campaign last May. 

The country has been wracked by the drug menace. 

Police have recorded 2,400 deaths related to drug consumption since Duterte assumed office on June 30.

Drug tests on college campuses are not unprecedented in the country. Some universities already have such a system in place.

(WION)