A chilling new survey has laid bare the staggering scale of substance exposure within Ghana’s educational institutions, revealing that 1 in 3 students in Senior High School have been introduced to drug use.

The findings, released by the Ministry for Youth Development, indicate that 41% of tertiary students and 37% of Senior High School (SHS) students are currently exposed to the drug trade or consumption, sparking fears of a looming public health crisis.

The data is even more sobering for the future of Ghana's teaching profession, as Colleges of Education recorded the highest levels of drug awareness and exposure at 54%.

The Sector Minister for Youth Development, Mr George Opare-Addo, unveiled these "alarmingly high" statistics during the “Show Your Love” Campaign, an initiative spearheaded by the Mental Health Authority under the Ministry of Health on Friday, 13th February 2026.

The Minister admitted that the data, gathered late last year, sent shockwaves through the government.

“After the survey at the Ministry for Youth Development late last year, our findings scared all of us. 41% of our tertiary students and 37% of our Senior High School students report exposure to drug use,” Mr Opare-Addo stated.

He cautioned that if left unaddressed, the trend poses a terminal threat to the academic integrity of the education sector and the collective well-being of the nation's youth.

In response to the "drug-exposure epidemic", the ministry has announced a strategic reset of youth support systems.

The government plans to pivot from purely punitive measures to a comprehensive support framework that integrates mental health literacy directly into youth employment and entrepreneurship modules.

The Ministry’s new intervention roadmap includes:

• Literacy Integration: Making mental health awareness a core component of National Service Scheme (NSS) placements and entrepreneurship training.
• Referral Pathways: Strengthening the links between community youth centres and clinical mental health facilities to ensure rapid intervention for at-risk students.
• Stakeholder Synergy: A formal partnership between the Mental Health Authority and the Ministry for Youth Development to track and treat addiction early.

“Going forward, the ministry seeks to collaborate with key stakeholders, including the Mental Health Authority, to integrate mental health literacy into youth employment and entrepreneurship programmes and strengthen referral pathways within youth centres and service placement,” the minister explained.

The high exposure rate in Colleges of Education (54%) is particularly concerning for the ministry, as these students are the nation's future educators. The fear is that a teaching core exposed to drug use could inadvertently normalise the habit among future generations of basic school pupils.

The "Show Your Love" campaign, which serves as a backdrop for these revelations, is urging parents and guardians to move beyond the stigma of drug use and provide the necessary emotional support to help students bounce back.