Bullying, drug abuse, depression: Cyberabad police set up safety clubs in schools for secure learning
It has almost been a month since the launch of this programme and 260 schools have been covered in the Madhapur zone alone
By Nimisha S Pradeep Published on 22 Dec 2022 6:30 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Last month, 15-20 boys gathered at a hostel of ICFAI Business School in Donthanapally village and physically harassed student Himank Bansal.
The boys pushed, punched, slapped, and kicked the boy. They touched his genitals and forced him to eat certain chemicals and powders. Apparently, the boys had harassed Bansal because he told a girl that Prophet Muhammad was a `pedophile'.
This is not an isolated incident in an educational institution. There have been many such cases of physical assault, drug abuse, depression and suicide deaths, etc in the past few months in schools and colleges not just in Cyberabad but across Telangana.
Children spend a considerable amount of time in schools and the environment at school has a significant impact on the formative years of the children. A secure, positive, and comfortable environment helps students to learn and grow better.
With the mission of combating such evils in educational institutions, Cyberabad police in collaboration with the Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC) decided to introduce safety clubs in all schools in Cyberabad Commissionerate.
It has almost been a month since the launch of this programme and 260 schools have been covered in the Madhapur zone alone. K Shilpavalli, DCP Madhapur said that the plans are in the pipeline to extend the programme to the other schools in the Cyberabad region.
So what exactly does the safety club do? What are its objectives? How does it function?
Safety clubs aim to provide students with opportunities to learn and develop critical core values which will enable them to make healthy and safe choices in life. It provides mentorship to students on various aspects of society. It also aims to build a sense of civic responsibility and leadership among the students. The programme believes that the students who are members of the safety clubs would not resort to consuming drugs, alcohol, or smoking drugs.
At the helm of safety clubs are the Commissioner of Police Cyberabad, followed by DCP Madhapur, and the SCSC Education Forum. In the safety clubs, there will be some select student volunteers, who will be guided by a parent volunteer. At the next level, there would be teacher volunteers who are trained as Balamitras by the Cyberabad police.
What are their activities?
Based on the objectives of the programme, there are four pillars of the safety clubs which include physical safety, cyber safety, anti-drug abuse, and mental health.
The safety club holds meetings every month. The club also organizes various activities like the child safety marathon, mental health awareness creation sessions, a short film competition, a hackathon, a physical safety course in self defence, etc.
Safety clubs will undertake a safety walk for the entire school premises once every quarter, in order to ensure compliance with standard safety measures. Schools have also been directed to maintain feedback/ complaint boxes on safety measures at one or two prominent locations in the school. The boxes should be opened during the safety walks and action should be taken on the feedback and complaints within 15 days of opening the box.
