Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Tuesday launched the Student Police Cadet (SPC) Scheme in the state to provide an opportunity for the students “to understand the police system and become active partners in governance and security.”
In the first phase, over 11,200 selected students of the VIII standard of 280 government schools also participated in the function via video conferencing.
The CM said the course curriculum formulated by Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) is to be imparted over a period of two years for Class VIII students from the current academic year 2023-24. The same students would continue with the scheme in class IX in the academic year 2024-25.
Mann said the state government has allocated Rs 50,000 per annum to each school for implementation of the scheme which will be implemented in 28 districts (23 revenue districts and five police districts) of the state.
Under the scheme, 40 students have been enrolled from 10 selected schools of each district, taking the total tally to 11,200 students.
The CM said 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 to be kept for the outdoor activities preferably after the school hours or on the weekends.
Mann said as per the scheme, the students would visit police offices, police stations, cyber cells, forensic science labs, police training centers and other government institutions as part of their curriculum.
He said students will also be made aware of traffic rules and regulations awareness program, participation in Republic or Independence day parades, unarmed combat training, training on Legal rights and laws, internship program with the Police during different law and order duties, other activities to engage students meaningfully in serving society, courses on character building and values.
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