Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and others partricipate in Student Volunteers Policing by NSS volunteers in road safety and crusade against drugs at JNTU, Hyderabad on Saturday.
All high schools in the State, both government and private, will have to constitute ‘Prahari Clubs’, to check drug abuse and related exploitation among schoolchildren, the Telangana government issued an order to this affect.
“They will offer a framework to wean away children from drug abuse and to stop selling drugs in surrounding areas of schools/education and childcare institutions through convergent actions in a time-bound manner,” the order by Principal Secretary (Education) Burra Venkatesham stated.
‘Prahari Clubs’ was a result of various circumstances and incidents reported by the School Education Department. The police department too advised similar action and suggested anti-drug committees in all schools and colleges. In a related event in March, Mr. Venkatesham supported the idea, but wanted a ‘positive name’.
“The word ‘drug’ would invoke any unnecessary ideas. Only the committee’s name would be different, but the intended actions and results will remain unchanged,” he had said.
According to the order, a Prahari Club should have a president, usually the headmaster or the principal, a vice-president, a senior or a child-friendly teacher, and members — two active students each from classes 6 to 10, a representative from the parent teacher association/parents, and one member from the local police station.
The clubs are to adopt strategic intervention to prevent reach of pharmaceutical drugs, substances, and any other intoxicants. But the major objectives of the clubs are to sensitise all members of the club to be vigilant about children abusing substances, sensitise if children are being used for trafficking of these substances, and to be vigilant about suspicious activities for use or sale of such substances in and around the school premises.
In a focussed area approach, the order said that more emphasis should be on areas in Hyderabad, Rachakonda and Cyberabad police commissionerate limits. The Department will shortly publish the operation guidelines of Prahari Clubs.
