New Delhi: The Punjab government will implement a drug prevention course in all government schools across the state starting on August 1, which targets students in grade 9 to 12. The initiative aims to curb the use of drugs through education and is part of a comprehensive strategy to address both the supply and demand of drug abuse.The curriculum developed under the guidance of Nobel Prize winner Profujit Banerjee consists of 15 sessions in 27 weeks. Students will participate in 35 minutes of classes in every fortnight, which will focus on understanding the risks associated with the pressure of the colleague, making informed decisions and the use of drugs. Teaching materials include films, quiz, posters, worksheets and interactive activities.The program will cover around 800,000 students in 3,658 government schools in Punjab. More than 6,500 teachers have trained to give sessions.According to data from a pilot run in 78 schools in Amritsar and Taran Taran districts, the course made average change in the student’s perspective. Out of 9,600 participating students, 90% admitted that trying drugs could cause drug addiction even once. The belief that drug addiction can be overcome with will alone fall from 50% to 20% after sessions.The education-centered approach complements the state’s enforcement efforts under the “War against War” campaign, which began in March 2025. Since then, smugglers of over 23,000 alleged narcotics have been arrested, over 1,000 kg of heroin have been seized, and assets associated with drug offends have been seized.The Punjab government has said that while law enforcement is priority, long -term solutions require preventive measures, especially to target youth. Officials said that school-based courses may serve as a model for other states to implement similar preventive strategies.
