Chandigarh: With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann launching the drug prevention curriculum for students of Classes IX to XII in all government schools on Friday, Punjab is set to become the first state in the country to take such a step against drugs.
According to Harjot Singh Bains, minister of school education, the curriculum, created by the Nobel Laureate Prof. Abhijit Banerjee-led organisation J-PAL South Asia, aims to empower around eight lakh students in Classes IX to XII with prevention-focused skills to combat substance abuse.
Termed as a part of third phase of the ongoing ``yudh nashian virudh’’ (war against drugs), the curriculum will consist of 35-minute sessions, held every fortnight for 27 weeks, and will feature a mix of engaging content, including documentaries, quizzes, posters, and interactive activities.
Bains said that the drugs prevention program will have a wide reach, covering 3,658 schools and engaging over 6,500 trained teachers to empower approximately eight lakh students from Classes IX to XII. This comprehensive program will ensure a significant impact on Punjab’s education system, equipping students with essential skills to say no to substance abuse.
This initiative is grounded in evidence, developed with leading behavioural scientists, and evaluated through randomised trials conducted in 78 government schools in Amritsar and Tarn Taran during FY 2024–25. These trials covered 9,600 students and, evaluated by J-PAL South Asia, yielded significant results.
Punjab’s drug crisis is a result of decades of systemic neglect and patronisation of previous regimes, pointed out Bains while adding that Punjab becomes the first state in India to implement a statewide, evidence-based drug prevention curriculum, while recognising that the battle against drugs begins from the classroom, not in police stations.
