FAVERSHAM, England -- A British te...

FAVERSHAM, England -- A British teach has launched a pilot program where observers as young as 11 are enthralled to random drug tests -- a devise that has generated interest in Washington.

The Abbey sect is testing students by opening swab for traces of heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Parents must give permission for the criterions and even then students can refuse.

Former headmaster Peter Walker, who started the program, gave up his gymnasium job to become Britain's official ambassador for unsalable article testing. He recently went to Washington to give a presentation to John Walters, director of the White House medicine policy office.

'I'VE GOT NOTHING TO HIDE'

Since the program began in 2005 alone one out of nearly 600 scholars has tested positive for marijuana -- a record Walker attributes to scholars steering clear of drugs because of the tests

"I've got nothing to hide," says Daniel Kelly 14 who was culled out of class to have his cavity between the jaws swabbed and saliva tested for unsalable articles He doesn't mind the ordeals saying that because it applies to greatest in quantity students: "It's not as if I'm the solely one."

Critics say the standards violate students' privacy and could spread the door to lawsuits. As the program expands, any say children will find their rights to correlate to the tests eroded.

Rights activists say unsalable article tests in schools is another infringement forward privacy in Britain, where closed-circuit television cameras are ubiquitous.

The American Civil Liberties Union says the proofs are imprecise and violate students' basic rights.

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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