Unmanned shops in Ernakulam schools bank on honest ‘buyers’

KOCHI: Staying honest is no child’s play in today’s world. But it is possible if one’s foundations are strong. With that in mind, seven schools in Ernakulam have opened ‘Honesty shops’ on their campuses under the aegis of Student Police Cadet (SPC), the high school-based initiative by the Kerala Police. Stocked with stationery items, the shops do not have a shopkeeper to collect money or any mechanism to monitor schoolchildren entering the shop for buying the items. IPS officer P Vijayan, the SPC state nodal officer, is the brain behind the initiative.

Anoob John, the community police officer at Ramamangalam High School, where the shop was opened on October 6 as part of the week-long Gandhi Jayanti celebrations, said the idea is to instil in students the value of being honest.

“There may have been such a concept in ancient times. However, the values have eroded over the years and people no longer believe others can be honest,” he said. “Like any other initiative, we decided to catch them young,” he said. Anoob said Vijayan mooted the idea at a meeting.

At the Ramamangalam school, a room was identified to set up the shop. “The items, mostly stationery, were bought using the funds provided for the initiative. The shop is managed by SPC cadets of the school. They are responsible for opening the store, checking the inventory and arranging the items in a way that allows easy access to students coming to buy the things,” said Anoob. After taking what they need, students drop the money into a box before leaving, he said.

Honesty shops take off in Kochi

“The cadets calculate the money collected in the box by evening, enter the amount in a register and deposit the money with the teacher-in-charge before closing the shop,” Anoob said, adding, “No CCTV cameras have been installed in the surrounding area.” 

Anoob said the idea was to launch ‘Honesty Shops’ across the state. “However, the project is yet to take off on a large scale,” he said, adding that there are such shops in some foreign countries. He said the SPC cadets were given training on operating the shop. “They also attended a workshop where they learnt the importance of honesty and the idea behind ‘Honesty Shops’,” he said. Anoob said the shop at the school is doing very well. “The stocks are depleting fast,” he said.

Seven implement initiative
GBHSS, Perumbavoor ,GHSS, Chowara ,GHS, Poika ,St Johns, Vadakara ,SGHSS, Vennikulam GHSS, Kuttamassery ,HS, Ramamangalam

KOCHI: Staying honest is no child’s play in today’s world. But it is possible if one’s foundations are strong. With that in mind, seven schools in Ernakulam have opened ‘Honesty shops’ on their campuses under the aegis of Student Police Cadet (SPC), the high school-based initiative by the Kerala Police. Stocked with stationery items, the shops do not have a shopkeeper to collect money or any mechanism to monitor schoolchildren entering the shop for buying the items. IPS officer P Vijayan, the SPC state nodal officer, is the brain behind the initiative. Anoob John, the community police officer at Ramamangalam High School, where the shop was opened on October 6 as part of the week-long Gandhi Jayanti celebrations, said the idea is to instil in students the value of being honest. “There may have been such a concept in ancient times. However, the values have eroded over the years and people no longer believe others can be honest,” he said. “Like any other initiative, we decided to catch them young,” he said. Anoob said Vijayan mooted the idea at a meeting. At the Ramamangalam school, a room was identified to set up the shop. “The items, mostly stationery, were bought using the funds provided for the initiative. The shop is managed by SPC cadets of the school. They are responsible for opening the store, checking the inventory and arranging the items in a way that allows easy access to students coming to buy the things,” said Anoob. After taking what they need, students drop the money into a box before leaving, he said. Honesty shops take off in Kochi “The cadets calculate the money collected in the box by evening, enter the amount in a register and deposit the money with the teacher-in-charge before closing the shop,” Anoob said, adding, “No CCTV cameras have been installed in the surrounding area.”  Anoob said the idea was to launch ‘Honesty Shops’ across the state. “However, the project is yet to take off on a large scale,” he said, adding that there are such shops in some foreign countries. He said the SPC cadets were given training on operating the shop. “They also attended a workshop where they learnt the importance of honesty and the idea behind ‘Honesty Shops’,” he said. Anoob said the shop at the school is doing very well. “The stocks are depleting fast,” he said. Seven implement initiative GBHSS, Perumbavoor ,GHSS, Chowara ,GHS, Poika ,St Johns, Vadakara ,SGHSS, Vennikulam GHSS, Kuttamassery ,HS, Ramamangalam