CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Drug consumption among the youth in Cameroon has become not only a serious issue, but also a major health problem. According to the latest WHO data available in 2018, drug abuse in Cameroon caused 0.32% of total deaths, making the country 16th in the world. Moreover, recent studies carried out in 2015 reporting abusive drug consumption showed that 10% of cannabis and Tramol consumers were school-age youth and people living in precarious conditions. The drugs consumed range from traditional drugs to imported cocaine and heroin. The list of drugs consumed in schools include cigarettes, marijuana, cannabis, and amphetamine tablets but in this study, I shall limit myself on the few I’ve observed to be consumed in Tubah Sub-Division which are Alcohol, Mariguana, Tobacco and Tramol. It has been observed these years that Cameroon has attracted increased attention in terms of drug trafficking and transit. For instance, the economic capital Douala is increasingly described as a hub for illegal drug consumption and trafficking. In a journal Published on 12.02.2021 at 00h59 by Journal du Cameroun shows that three persons suspected of drug trafficking were arrested by elements of the Mobile Intervention Unit in Douala, Bonanjo. Two of the three suspects were arrested after forces of law and order got tips of their activities. Several kilograms of cannabis in their possession was seized and after hours of interrogation, they finally revealed the identity of the brain behind the activity, Nguemdjo Eli, who was also arrested.

Further interrogations revealed the man has been involved in the business for several years though he claimed using them for medicinal purposes rather than smoking. Apart from this insistences, News circulate on national TV and social medias about students committing terrible crimes as a result of drug abuse.

It has been observed that the rate of consumption of drugs in school’s campuses has been steadily on the rise. Only recently a student at the Government Bilingual High School Deido, Douala was stabbed by his former mate. Other cases of skirmishes in schools involved a teacher of the Government Bilingual High School Leclerc who was  brutalized by students of the school. Most of the perpetrators were said to be under the influence of drugs. The phenomenon has eaten deep into secondary and Higher Schools as well as professional institutions of learning. A study carried out by Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) in Cameroon in 2008 reveals that 44% of young students have tried a hard substance at least once. A similar study carried out in Cameroon in 2015 on the abusive use of drugs by youths shows that 10% of youths of school age and people in precarious social condition are regular users of drugs especially cannabis alcohol and Tramol.

On Wednesday, April 6, 2022. a form five student in Yola school complex Nkolbisson Yaounde stabbed the principal of the school because he had refused to give back his pullover which was confiscated. Even around Tubah Sub-Division, I have observed that must students who bully their peers in school and at home, steal and engage in premarital sex at a young age do so under the influence of drugs which the most common are Mariguana locally called Mbanga and Tramadol . They sometimes threaten teachers and due to the unstable environment, teachers seem to be vulnerable. When you look at how some of them dress and even discuss, you can tell that they smoke weed and take tramol. Many keep late nights and that is why you will find them in Night Clubs like Wine Rivers and Black Rose consuming a lot of alcohol, smoking shisha and flirting around .  Consequences of this acts are not limited to the people involved, they are also extended to people around them as consumers engage in unacceptable behaviors in the community.

Statement of the Problem

To the society as a whole, crime, promiscuity, armed robbery and other vices are all linked to drug abuse. Therefore, this study is motivated by the controversy that surrounds students’ perception and understanding of influence of drug abuse on their academic performance.

The purpose of this study is to highlight the causes of drug abuse among students in some selected secondary schools in Tubah Sub-Division using random sampling technique. This research is conducted to understand the causes and consequences of drug abuse among youths in general and students in particular and make proposals to curb the practice.

Objectives

Main Objective

The main Objective of this study is to:

Investigate the effects of drug abuse in secondary school student’s academic performance with Tubah Sub-Division

The specific objectives of the study sought to:

i)Find out how the influence of Alcoholism on students’ academic performance in secondary schools  in Tubah Sub-Division

1. ii) Identify the effects of Mariguana use on students’ academic performance.

iii) Find out the how of Tobacco use influence students’ academic performance.

(iv)  Explore possible reasons why students abuse drugs.

Research Questions

1. How does Alcoholsm influence students’ academic performance in secondary schools within Tubah Sub-Division? 
2. What are the effects of Mariguana use on students’ academic performance ?

• How does Tobacco use influence students’ academic performance.

1. What are the reasons why students abuse drugs in secondary schools within Tubah Sub-Division?