One in five primary pupils has experimented with drugs, NACADA survey shows

The battle against drug and substance abuse is extending beyond the classroom, and it involves schools, families, communities and institutions of higher learning. What was once largely associated with older youth and adults is increasingly a concern among children who have not completed primary education.

Growing exposure to alcohol, tobacco, miraa, muguka, cannabis, prescription medication, vaping products and other harmful substances raises serious questions about parental supervision, community responsibility, school counselling programmes and the effectiveness of national prevention strategies. The concern is not simply that young people are experimenting. It is that exposure is beginning at ever earlier stages of education, threatening the foundation on which Kenya is building its future workforce.

Research published by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) shows the problem across the education system, from primary schools to universities.(Education News Kenya — https://educationnews.co.ke/news/one-in-five-primary-pupils-has-experimented-with-drugs-nacada-survey-shows)

A 2018 NACADA survey established that 20.2 per cent of primary school pupils had experimented with at least one substance during their lifetime, while 16.9 per cent reported consumption within the preceding 30 days. The substances identified included alcohol, tobacco, miraa, muguka, cannabis and prescription medication. Alcohol had been consumed by 7.2 per cent of the pupils and 6 per cent had experimented with tobacco. Miraa and muguka accounted for 3.7 per cent, while 1.2 per cent reported lifetime cannabis use.

These findings challenge the assumption that drug abuse mainly affects older teenagers and university students. They show that prevention must begin in childhood, when learners are still forming their attitudes, behaviour and understanding of the consequences of substance use.

NACADA's 2016 national survey of secondary school students identified alcohol, miraa, prescription drugs, tobacco and cannabis among the substances being consumed. Current alcohol use stood at 3.8 per cent, while miraa and prescription medication each accounted for 3.6 per cent. Tobacco use was recorded at 2.5 per cent and cannabis at 1.8 per cent. The figures are historical and need updating, but they show that substance abuse has long been present in secondary schools.

The most striking evidence comes from higher learning. A 2024 NACADA study of 15,678 students from 17 public and private universities, published in 2025, found that 45.6 per cent had used at least one substance during their lifetime and 26.6 per cent reported current use. Alcohol was the most commonly reported substance at 18.6 per cent, followed by tobacco products at 12 per cent, cannabis at 10.7 per cent and khat at 10.2 per cent. The study also documented the use of inhalants, prescription medication, heroin and cocaine.

The findings also point to a drug distribution environment around institutions. About one in three students knew of fellow students selling drugs within their institutions, while about half were aware of students selling drugs in university neighbourhoods. This raises questions about campus security, student welfare and the effectiveness of existing prevention strategies.

The assumption that drug abuse is predominantly an African or developing-world problem is not supported by international research. Australia, the United States, Canada and European countries continue to confront substance use among school-going children and adolescents.

Australia's 2022-2023 Australian Secondary Students' Alcohol and Drug survey, which involved 10,314 students aged 12 to 17, found that 22.2 per cent had consumed alcohol in the preceding month and 6.6 per cent had used cannabis in the same period. These figures are higher than the current alcohol and cannabis use reported in Kenya's 2016 secondary school survey. The comparison must be read carefully, however, because the studies were conducted in different years and may have used different sampling and reporting approaches.

The broader lesson is that developed countries have not eliminated substance abuse despite stronger health infrastructure, better-resourced institutions and established prevention programmes. The World Health Organization's research on school-aged children across Europe, Central Asia and Canada also shows the importance of continuously monitoring alcohol, tobacco, vaping and cannabis use among adolescents. For Kenya, the challenge is twofold: preventing early exposure and strengthening the systems that identify and support affected learners.

The growing problem is placing additional pressure on teachers and school administrators. Teachers are expected to deliver lessons, implement Competency-Based Education (CBE), assess learners, nurture talents and maintain discipline. Increasingly, they must also deal with behavioural and social challenges that originate beyond the classroom.

Substance use can interfere with concentration, attendance, relationships, classroom participation and academic progression, and can contribute to conflicts, indiscipline and disengagement from learning. Conventional disciplinary approaches may not address the underlying problem. Suspending or expelling a learner may remove an immediate disruption but does not necessarily resolve dependence or the circumstances behind it.

This is why guidance and counselling should occupy a central position in every learning institution. Schools need adequately trained personnel who can identify warning signs, engage learners confidentially and refer those who need specialised help to appropriate professionals. Teachers should also be trained to recognise behavioural changes that may warrant further assessment, rather than treating every incident as ordinary indiscipline.

The problem is not only threatening the education system. It is also placing families and communities under increasing pressure. Parents who should be providing guidance, protection and positive role models are increasingly confronted with children experimenting with alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other substances at young ages.

For some families, the challenge goes beyond discovering that a child is using drugs. They must contend with behavioural changes, strained relationships, financial demands, school absenteeism, declining academic performance and the possibility of dependence. The burden is heaviest for households with limited resources, where professional counselling, rehabilitation and other support may be hard to access.

Communities are equally affected. Drug distribution and consumption can undermine neighbourhood safety, fuel family conflicts, expose children to harmful peer influences and make substance use increasingly normal. The problem is more complicated where alcohol outlets, informal trading points and distribution networks operate near learning institutions. Parents cannot successfully protect their children if the wider environment exposes them to the very substances they are warned against, and schools cannot independently resolve a problem rooted in family circumstances, peer relationships, neighbourhood activities and wider social influences.

This calls for a united approach involving parents, community leaders, religious institutions, teachers, local administrators, law enforcement agencies and NACADA. Parents must be empowered to recognise early warning signs, communicate openly with their children and seek professional help when necessary. Communities must reject the normalisation of drug consumption and actively support efforts to protect children.

The responsibility cannot be transferred entirely to teachers or school administrators. Protecting learners from substance abuse must begin at home, continue in school and be reinforced throughout the community. A child cannot be expected to make responsible choices in an environment where the adults and institutions around them have failed to provide adequate protection and guidance.

Kenya's transition to CBE has placed renewed emphasis on practical learning, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and talent development. The success of these reforms depends on learners being healthy, emotionally supported and actively engaged in their education.

A learner struggling with substance abuse may find it difficult to participate consistently in classroom activities, practical assessments and talent-development programmes. This adds to the challenge for administrators already dealing with infrastructure, staffing and resource constraints linked to curriculum implementation. Education reforms must therefore address more than the content delivered in classrooms. They must also consider the social conditions that affect learners' ability to benefit from education.

Drug prevention cannot succeed if interventions are confined to school compounds. The 2018 NACADA primary school research identified kiosks and shops, bars, friends, fellow students and even some school workers among the reported sources through which pupils accessed substances. This shows the influence of the environment around learning institutions.

Enforcement against the sale of drugs near schools must therefore be strengthened, alongside community education and parental involvement. County governments, local administrators, law enforcement agencies, NACADA and education officials have an important role in addressing the supply networks that expose children to harmful substances. Learning institutions must also strengthen partnerships with surrounding communities so that prevention does not stop at the school gate.

One major weakness in assessing the current situation is the age of the widely cited national school surveys. The secondary school findings date back to 2016, while the primary school research was conducted in 2018. The university study provides more recent evidence, but Kenya requires an updated national assessment covering primary schools, junior schools, senior schools, teacher training colleges, TVET institutions and universities.

The research should establish the ages at which experimentation begins, the most commonly consumed substances, regional differences, sources of supply and the relationship between substance use and educational outcomes. It should also examine the growing influence of vaping products, emerging substances and online networks through which young people may encounter drug-related content and markets. Without reliable and regularly updated information, policymakers risk designing interventions that fail to address the changing nature of the problem.

The fight against drug and substance abuse requires a shift from reactive punishment to prevention, early identification and professional support. Every learning institution should have a functional guidance and counselling programme, supported by trained personnel and clear referral arrangements.

NACADA and the Ministry of Education should strengthen age-appropriate prevention programmes, while the Teachers Service Commission should support teacher training on learner welfare, behavioural challenges and early intervention. Universities and colleges must strengthen campus security, student counselling and cooperation with authorities to address drug distribution within and around their premises. Parents and community leaders should be brought into prevention initiatives, with greater emphasis on family education, responsible parenting and community vigilance. Learners struggling with dependence should not automatically be treated as disciplinary cases. They need appropriate intervention, protection and access to professional support.

The comparison with developed countries shows that economic advancement alone cannot protect learners from substance abuse. What matters is the strength of prevention systems, access to treatment, reliable research and the willingness of institutions to confront the problem.

Kenya cannot afford to wait until substance abuse shows itself through examination failure, school unrest, violence, absenteeism or the loss of young lives before treating it as an education priority. The country's education challenge is no longer just about what learners are taught, how teachers are recruited or how examinations are administered. It is also about what is happening to learners outside the classroom, and whether the families, communities and institutions entrusted with their welfare are equipped to protect them.

The fight against drug and substance abuse must become a shared national responsibility. Kenya cannot build a competitive, disciplined and productive generation while ignoring the substances threatening the health, education and future of its children.