Now, a ‘Prahari Club’ in each Punjab school to keep children away from drugs

The project proposes to set up ‘Prahari Club’ in each school with a teacher and students from class 6-12 as its members.

The copy of the letter (with The Indian Express) which has been sent to all school heads by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) says that as per the directions from the central government, ‘Prahari clubs’ have to be setup in all school to keep children away from drugs and substance use.

The letter says that a physical education teacher in each school would be the nodal head of the club and if there is no such teacher in the school, the principal can appoint any other teacher as club’s head. 20-25 students from class 6 to 12 would be the members of the club.

The club’s task would be to spread awareness among all students against drugs and its harmful effects. The club would also ensure a drug-free environment for students inside the school campus and its vicinity. Anti-drug activities have to be carried out by the club during morning assemblies, Bal Sabhas and physical education periods. Club members will also keep an eye that there is no sale of tobacco products inside the school campus or in the 100 square yards area around the campus and warning boards regarding this have to be displayed at school’s main gate.

Interestingly, the Punjab government had introduced its own ‘Tu Mera Buddy’ programme in 2018 on similar lines to take anti-drug awareness campaigns to classrooms and catch children young from class 6 onwards before they could get into drug abuse. The classrooms were divided into small groups of 5-6 buddies with a trainer teacher to guide them.

The ‘buddies’ were required to keep an eye on each other and look for early symptoms of drug addiction. It was a sort of peer pressure strategy to keep children in good company and keep them away from drugs by using positive counselling and advice from their ‘buddies’.

Sukhwinder Singh Chahal, state president, Punjab Government Teachers Union said: “Earlier also we were running Buddy Programme in schools to keep students away from drugs. Such programmes are always good but somehow, some students fell into this drug trap because drugs are openly available and sellers keep roaming near school campuses. Police need to take the strictest possible action against those sellers who sell drugs near school and college campuses.”