Liberia's Education Ministry has blocked controversial plans to introduce mandatory drug testing in all of the country's schools.
Speaking to local media, the interim head of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), Fitzgerald Biago, said school testing would help address the growing problem of drug abuse.
The announcement sparked a mixed response. Some thought it would help tackle the scourge of drugs, while others saw it as an invasion of privacy, or feared it would cost too much.
Last year, President Joseph Boakai declared drug and substance abuse a national emergency and a recent EU-backed report estimated that one in five young Liberians take drugs.
However, the Education Ministry said it was not aware of any plans to test students and added that such a decision needed to be based on concrete evidence and properly thought through.
