Amid Census 2027 duties, Drug Social Survey responsibilities, and BLO duties, government school teachers have also begun their training programme under the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign, as directed by the Punjab Government.
Around 3,238 teachers will be trained in behavioural sciences, counselling, and mentoring students against drug and substance abuse in schools, as the state government plans to introduce drug sensitisation and awareness into the school curriculum.
Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh today addressed the capacity-building training programme for government school teachers at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Maha Singh Gate.
Dr Balbir Singh said teachers play the most significant role in guiding students’ behaviour in the right direction, keeping them away from drugs, and making them mentally strong. The Punjab Government, in collaboration with Dr BR Ambedkar Institute of Medical Sciences, Mohali, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and DITSU, is running this flagship programme with the support of mental health experts. Under the programme, 1,400 principals from nine districts of Punjab are being trained.
He further said that the initiative commenced in Amritsar, where 3,238 teachers in the district will be trained over a period of 16 days. The training sessions will be organised at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Maha Singh Gate (Shivala), Saragarhi Memorial School of Eminence, Town Hall at Mall Mandi, and Senior Secondary Residential School for Meritorious Students, Amritsar.
The Health Minister said that under the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign, school teachers have been entrusted with the responsibility of spreading awareness among students about drug abuse, identifying mental health-related issues, and motivating the younger generation towards a positive lifestyle. He added that education and sensitive teachers can lay the foundation of a drug-free and mentally strong Punjab.
He also informed that the trainers conducting these sessions had earlier undergone a special two-day training programme at Guru Nanak Dev University under experts from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and DITSU, after which they are now imparting training to school teachers.
Dr Balbir said that the Education Department is continuously making special efforts in schools for behavioural development and awareness against drug abuse. A special curriculum and activities are being developed to encourage students to become mentally strong, responsible and stay away from drugs.
