To make students familiar with police functioning, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Tuesday rolled out a 'Student Police Cadet' (SPC) scheme.
An official statement quoting the chief minister said the course curriculum formulated by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) is to be imparted over a period of two years for class 8 students from the current academic year 2023-24.
Under the scheme, 40 students each have been enrolled in 280 government schools, taking the total tally to 11,200 students.
The same students will continue with the scheme in class 9 in the academic year 2024-25, the statement said.
Mann said the state government has allocated Rs 50,000 per annum for each school for this scheme which will be implemented in all districts.
The CM said that one class per month is to be conducted for indoor course completion, thus not leading to any significant increase in the regular school curriculum of the students, while half-day twice a month is to be kept for the outdoor activities preferably after school hours or on the weekends.
Mann said this initiative has been taken to provide an opportunity for students to become familiar with the police functioning from close quarters and to become active partners in governance and security.
He said as per the scheme, students will visit police offices, police stations, cyber cells, forensic science labs, police training centres, and other government institutions as part of the curriculum.
The CM further said students will also be made aware of traffic rules and regulations, participation in Republic Day and Independence Day parades, unarmed combat training, training on legal rights and laws, and an internship programme with the police during different law and order duties.
Mann said students will get deep insights about various topics, including an overview of crimes in trends, cyber crime, road safety, the safety of children, awareness session on drug abuse, corruption, female foeticide, domestic violence, first aid, emergency response to disasters, and quiz contest.
The community affairs division, police, and education are the coordinating departments to implement this scheme.
The teachers will be resource persons to conduct indoor and outdoor classes in coordination with police officials.