Read the text below and answer question

Plan to test Liberian schoolchildren for drugs blocked

October 17th, 2025

By Moses Kollie Garzeawu

Monrovia, Liberia, Africa

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.

Assistant minister in charge of students Sona Toure-Sesay told the BBC that this kind of plan required proper research. "Let's assume we are made aware of the proposed initiatives by the LDEA, it will require us to conduct research and review case studies from other countries where this has been successful," she said.  

Toure-Sesay also noted that testing could affect students. "What happens to students who test positive? What are the social services in place for them? Some of them might be bullied even after returning, and it may affect their overall educational performances."

She added that a multi-sectoral committee on drug and substance abuse had been set up, headed by the Health Ministry. Along with strengthening health clubs in schools, she said that this would help to reduce the prevalence of drugs among students.

President Boakai dismissed the leadership of the LDEA in August this year, and recently appointed Biago, a former senior police officer, as interim head of the agency.

Taken from:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mxz3x1lr7o  

Read Text A and answer the question.

Text A

Brazil joins growing list of countries banning cellphones in schools

(1)        A bill that bans students from using cellphones in schools was signed into law in Brazil on Monday, the latest example of lawmakers limiting young people’s use of personal technology in the classroom, amongst growing concern about its effect on education and wellbeing.

(2)        Brazil’s Education Ministry said in a statement that the law “aims to safeguard the mental, physical and psychological health of children and adolescents.” The law prohibits all students in public and private elementary and secondary schools from using portable electronic devices throughout the school day, the ministry said, though it allows for their educational use and some other exceptions.

(3)        Brazil joins several countries that have banned the personal use of cellphones in schools — including the Netherlands, Italy, and France — though there are questions as to whether phone bans are effective in achieving their aims.

(4)        On the one hand, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommended in 2023 that smartphones only be allowed during class time for learning activities. “Even just having a mobile phone nearby with notifications coming through is enough to result in students losing their attention from the task at hand,” it said in a statement.

(5)        Despite the concern, an August (2024) global literature review by researchers at three universities in Queensland, Australia, found that there have been limited high-quality studies on the issue. “The evidence for banning mobile phones for the mental health and well-being of students is inconclusive and based only on anecdotes or perceptions, rather than the recorded incidence of mental illness,” authors Marilyn Campbell, professor of early-childhood and inclusive education at the Queensland University of Technology. “Mobile phones are an integral part of our lives,” they added. “We need to be teaching children about appropriate use of phones, rather than simply banning them.”

(Adapted from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/14/brazil-cellphoneschool-ban/

•Use Text I for question.

TEXT I

HOW TO COPE WITH THE SUNDAY SCARIES

by Chantelle Lee

    ________(1) Sunday night, and you’re feeling sad and anxious about going back to work in the morning.

    Say hello to the Sunday scaries 

   You’re not alone in your workweek dread: “They’re very, very common,” says Susanne Cooperman, a neuropsychologist and psychoanalyst at New York University Langone Huntington Medical Group. “There’s nothing wrong with a person if they feel sad that the weekend is over. It’s when it really interferes in your functioning—when you can’t focus, when you can’t sleep, when you feel yourself medicating with alcohol—then you need help.”

   Here’s why people get the Sunday scaries and the best ways to combat those thoughts of doom and gloom.

   __________(2) are the Sunday scaries? The Sunday scaries typically manifest in two ways: feelings of depression that the weekend is ending, feelings of anxiety about the week to come, or both. These feelings typically start on Sunday afternoon.

   “It could be that you feel sad and irritable and you have difficulty concentrating and fatigue,”

   Cooperman says. That collection of feelings is called anhedonia—basically a loss of enjoyment.

   If you feel more dread for the work week ahead, that’s called “anticipatory anxiety,” she says.

   Why people get them 

   The scaries strike for all kinds of reasons. They could be related to work—maybe you’re afraid of losing your job, or you’re dreading going to the office in person, or you’re simply having a hard time unplugging from work after hours, Cooperman says.

   Or, she adds, it could also be that you overbooked yourself during the week and feel exhausted by the time Sunday comes around.

   How to deal with the Sunday scaries

  One of the best ways to deal with the Sunday scaries is to mentally plant yourself firmly in the present. One way to achieve this is to try a mediation or relaxation app, even if it’s only for 10 or 15 minutes, Cooperman says. “I think that’s probably the best out of all the tips: stay in the moment, really try to curtail that catastrophizing into the future,” she says. There are other paths away from the scaries, too: Unplug from your phone or social media, maintain a good work-life balance, do some exercise, or get some fresh air. Make sure to schedule fun activities for Sunday afternoon and evening and do things that reliably make you feel better or help you “refuel [your] batteries,” Cooperman says. Just as important is allowing yourself downtime to relax and unwind, she adds. She also recommends trying to split up errands throughout the week so you don’t feel like you wasted your entire Sunday doing them.

   While the Sunday scaries are common, people should keep an eye on how they’re coping come the end of the weekend. “Use healthy, adaptive ways to self-soothe when you’re anxious and have the scaries,” Cooperman says. “A glass of wine is fine, but if it’s more than that and you need it every night, then that’s a problem.” If the scaries are so bad that it’s significantly impacting your life, Cooperman suggests talking about these feelings with a therapist or a psychologist. Some warning signs include being so anxious that it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning, having anxiety attacks, needing alcohol to calm down, not being able to focus or sleep, or failing to enjoy the weekend at all. “If you just can’t get out of that loop where you’re constantly unhappy, then I think you’re at a place where you should see a psychologist or a therapist,” Cooperman says. “Sometimes it’s hard to [deal with it] on your own. It’s good to talk to a professional.” 

LEE, Chantelle. How to cope with the Sunday scaries. Time, New York, 6 Apr. 2025. Available at: https://time.com/7275089/what-are-sunday-scaries/. Accessed on: 11 Aug. 2025.