Union Home Minister launches the Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme for nationwide implementation at a ceremony in Gurugram 

Shri Rajnath Singh says SPC will create a silent revolution by imparting moral values to budding minds

The Voice of Canada News News | Photos By T S Bedi

The nation-wide Student Police Cadet (SPC) Programme, which was launched by the Union Home Minister,  Rajnath Singh, from Gurugram , would, in initial phase, be implemented in all government schools in urban and rural areas across the country.

Lending weight to the programme and giving hope to the cadets, the Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal, anounced that cadets who participated in it would be given preference in recruitment to the Haryana Police.

Speaking after the launch, the Home Minister expressed the hope that the SPC would lead to a silent revolution over the years by focusing on character building by imparting moral values to budding minds.

Rajnath Singh expressed concern that education these days laid stress on mere book reading with little attention being paid towards character building of students, which is getting reflected in negative effects on the society in terms of increased crime.

In order to cope with rapid modernization and cut-throat competition, schools have focused attention on building careers and rising incomes, creating tremendous pressure on young minds.

While the dawn of new technologies, internet and social media has helped our children keep pace with the changing times, it has also adversely impacted our society as we witness the breakdown of the traditional family system, and worrying rise in the incidents of crimes and rapes, he added.

Rajnath Singh said the SPC programme would help in making students responsible citizens by inculcating in them values of respect to the elderly, discipline and social responsibility.

The SPC programme will provide a healthy interface between schools and police and help inculcate in students aspects of public safety, discipline, patience, tolerance, empathy, respect of senior citizens, social harmony, traffic sense and a corruption-free environment.

Referring to the ill effects of television, internet and social media on children, the Union Minister said since social media was affecting everyone, there is need to focus on character building of students in schools.

The youth who emerge from such programme would bear ethical values of social commitment and be aware of social evils such as drugs, alcohol abuse, intolerance and vandalism.

Rajnath Singh expressed the confidence that this programme would result in overall development of a student’s personality and bring about huge change in society.

A sum of Rs 50,000 would be provided to each school for educational assistance, training and contingencies under the programme. A sum of Rs 67 crore has already been disbursed to the states for its implementation, he added.

Describing the SPC Programme as a milestone on the road to nation-building, the Chief Minister said the quality of work of the police would further improve with these cadets associating themselves with the department. It would sensitize the cadets towards helping the society.

Expressing his gratitude to the Union Home Minister for launching this programme from Haryana, he said it would play an important role in providing new direction to youth.

Talking about the talent of sportspersons of Haryana, the Chief Minister said they had brought laurels to the state in national and international competitions. The state government would soon recruit 6,000 police personnel, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Human Resource Development Minister,  Prakash Javadekar, said coordination would be established between the academic curriculum and the SPC Programme. About four crore students of Classes VIII and IX across the country would be associated with the programme.

Union Minister of State, Hans Raj Gangaram, Union Minister of State for Planning, Rao Inderjit Singh, Haryana Chief Secretary, D.S. Dhesi and Director General of Police, B.S. Sandhu also spoke on this occasion.