Twelve school bus driverss tested positive for hashish and Tramadol in the fourth and fifth days of a campaign by the Education Ministry, Youm7 reported Monday.
The campaign targets drivers in Cairo, Giza, Obour and Qalyubia, head of the General Security Administration of the ministry Ahmed Khedr told Youm7.
In the first two days of the campaign, the drivers of 62 schools in Cairo were checked, 45 in Giza, and 45 others in Qalyubia, Alaa Assaf, coordinator of the Education Ministry and the Anti-Drugs Fund, told Youm7.
In the fifth day alone, eight drivers tested positive. Of 39 drivers tested in Basateen and Dar Assalam in Cairo, five were positive, while three tested positive in Obour among 44 tested drivers, according official at the security administration of the ministry Amr al-Desouki.
Simultaneously, the Ministry of Solidarity is leading another campaign to exclude drivers who consume drugs.
A total of 27 out of 286 school bus drivers tested positive for drugs in one week, according to a Saturday statement by the Solidarity Ministry.
The random screening campaign kicked off Oct.4 and plans to test a total of 4,000 drivers at 600 schools during this academic year 2015/2016. Last year, 7 percent of 1,400 school bus drivers tested positive for drugs.
A 2014 crash in which 11 students burned to death is believed to have triggered the government’s attention to monitor the road after the crash involved a truck driver who tested positive for hashish. The government’s escalation aims to reduce road accidents caused by driving under the influence (DUI.)
