Survey: Most Romanians support drug testing in schools for students over 14

A total of 83.4% of respondents to a survey by INSCOP Research support the introduction of drug testing in schools for students over the age of 14, while only 15.2% oppose it.

More specifically, 60.8% support the measure to a very large extent, while another 22.6% support it to a fairly large extent, the survey, quoted by Mediafax, found.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, 15.2% of respondents oppose the introduction of drug testing. Of these, 5% support the measure only to a small extent, while 10.2% support it to a very small extent or not at all.

Although there is a very clear majority across the population as a whole, the data show significant differences between social groups. The voters of the hard-right party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), people over 45, those with secondary education, TikTok users, and public-sector employees support drug testing at higher-than-average rates. At the other end of the spectrum are young people aged 18 to 29, voters of the reformist Save Romania Union (USR), people with higher education, and Bucharest residents.

In the same survey, 74.5% of respondents support permanent audio and video monitoring in classrooms.

At the same time, 77% believe that mandatory school uniforms could reduce discrimination among students.

The three measures therefore have a common denominator: stricter rules and greater oversight in schools, the authors of the survey point out.

The high level of support for drug testing and audio-video monitoring suggests that, in the public perception, children’s safety tends to take priority over concerns about individual autonomy and privacy, Remus Ștefureac, the director of INSCOP Research, explains. The data also point to a significant level of social concern about the school environment, as well as expectations that institutions should take firmer action to prevent risks.

The poll also highlighted that Romanians are almost evenly divided when assessing how well schools are prepared for the new school year. A total of 45.3% believe that schools are very well or fairly well prepared, while 45.5% consider them fairly poorly or very poorly prepared.

However, when the question shifts from the state of the education system to the measures that should be introduced in schools, the response becomes much more decisive, with 83.4% in favor of drug testing, 77% for school uniforms, and 74.5% for audio-video monitoring.

The survey was carried out between September 1 and September 7 as telephone interviews among a sample of 1,100 people representative of Romania’s non-institutionalized population aged 18 and over. The maximum margin of error is ±2.95%, at a 95% confidence level.