Chege, Margaret W.2016-04-062016-04-062013-08http://erepository.mku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/2933Alcohol abuse is a major problem in the world today that has social, economic, medical and legal implications. Kenya, like many other developing countries, has not been spared the problem of alcohol abuse. If anything, the problem is worsened by the fact that the country is used as a conduit or transit-point for alcohol which are destined to other parts of the world. As such, some of the alcohol filters into the local market. Recent studies indicate that teachers are the most affected as many of them become hooked on alcohol without full knowledge of the repercussions. Various policy measures have been taken by the Government of Kenya in attempting to curb the problem. However, due to the persistence of the problem and given that other countries have been dealing with it, Kenya is in an attempt to benefit by looking at drug policies elsewhere in the world for drawing lessons. Most of the countries have been dealing with it. The main objective towards this concern is because of the harm caused by this problem to the workforce and the entire population. It will also protect its citizens against the harmful effects of alcohol abuse. Hence, various laws have been propagated. The manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol are specifically governed by three statutes which include: The Chang'aa Prohibition Act, Chapter 70 of 1980, prohibits the manufacture, sale, consumption and possession of Chang' aa. The Liquor Licensing Act, Chapter 121 of 1986, prescribes the procedures for licensing courts, issuance of licenses and penalties arising from the contravention of the Act. Basically controlling the sale and supply of liquor, this statute prohibits employment of persons less than 18 years of age to sell, control or supervise the sale of liquor or to have custody of liquor or licensed premises. The Traditional Liquor Licensing Act, Chapter 122 of 1991; which in tandem with the Liquor Licensing Act in substance, provides for the control of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor other than spirits of traditional types; for the control of premises upon which such liquor is manufactured or sold; and the imposition of a tax upon the manufacture of such liquor. The measures prescribed by these statutes are punitive in nature. Their enforcement has been problematic because the officials responsible for the enforcement have converted the industry into a cash cow where they just collect money from the brewers and let them off scot-free. Other measures include the ratification of three major United Nations Conventions on Narcotic drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the adoption of the East African community's protocol on combating Drug trafficking in the East African Region and the adoption of the Organization of African Unity's Declaration and plan of Action on drug abuse and illicit trafficking control in Africa. On 27 March 2001 the Government set up the National Agency for the Campaign against Drug and Substance Abuse (NACADA) to spearhead the war against the alcohol and other drugs menace. This abuse has extended as an issue of concern to other Ministries such as of Education, Health among others. In the education sector, alcohol abuse has become a major public health problem to the teachers in our primary schools. Drug and substance abuse has been linked to many problems facing societies today. NACADA (2002) categorizes the effects of abuse as covering the individual, the family, the community, the nation and the community of nations. To the individual, alcohol affects vital body organs like the liver cirrhosis, heart infections, kidney failure and lungs and is eventually leading to death. Second, since some of the alcohol types are not acceptable to society due to poor standards, drug users are detested by society and become social misfits. Third, alcohol abuse is not cheap to sustain; when the money to obtain them is not available, the abuser engages in theft and other criminal activities, which leads to insecurity. The problem of this abuse may lead to the spread of communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS (especially through careless sex motivated by alcohol abuse) and Hepatitis B. According to NACADA (2002), the use of alcohol by the society create social economic hardships by breeding misery that increases crime, violence and a drain on human material resources. The problem also poses a danger for public health, the quality of life and the political, economic and social stability of the country. The same report holds that this problem has become a major disaster in Kenyawhich claims many lives every year as evidenced by the high rate of fatal road accidents, upsurge in the crime rate, violent disturbances and uprisings in schools. The abuse has a range of adverse effects to the individual. These include effects on an individual's health, financial position, productivity and social relations. NACADA focuses on prevention as a method of countering this abuse. The key components of this strategy are geared towards changing people's perceptions, beliefs, expectations and interventions with the vision of enhancing the capacity of workforces to make informed decisions and choices on issues of drugs. The campaign seeks to raise public awareness on the benefits of demand and supply reduction of substance abuse. In carrying out its mandate, NACADA faces many hurdles which include shortage of financial and human resources, lack of harmony among government departments dealing with drug abuse, denial of existence of the problem and cover-up by the society, ineffective coordination locally and internationally and lack of appropriate and harmonized strategies in fighting the problem. It is therefore important to embark on this study in order to establish the extent of this problem. It has resulted to too many effects and thus affecting the core agendas in the education sector especially by tampering with the school mission and vision. Thus, study will aim at evaluating the impacts of alcohol abuse amongst teaching staff in public primary schools in Kandara district, Murang’a County. It will be guided by various objectives which are to analyze the performance trends of the subjects taught by alcohol abusing teachers, evaluate the social-economic effects resulting from alcohol abuse by the teaching staff in public primary schools, assess the effectiveness of various strategies and policies adopted by the public primary school stakeholders to curb the alcohol abuse menace by the teachers, in Kandara division, Murang’a County. A sample size of 30 public primary schools will be used. This will incorporate a consideration that the school has to be run by government employees from Teachers Service Commission. The data will be collected through the use of structured questionnaire; direct interviews. The school heads, the Heads of Department will be used to be responding towards the study. Analysis for descriptive statistics will be through the use of frequencies, bar graphs and curves which are to reveal the results of the study. The statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS Version 17) will be used.enProject