'No Place for Drugs in Educational Institutions': DGP C.V. Anand
DGP C.V. Anand said Telangana will establish anti-drug committees in educational institutions to strengthen campus safety and enforce zero tolerance towards narcotics.
Director General of Police C.V. Anand on Wednesday said the Telangana government is taking decisive steps to make all educational institutions completely drug-free, asserting that schools and colleges must have zero tolerance towards narcotic substances.
Anand chaired a high-level review meeting with officials of the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (EAGLE). “Educational institutions play a crucial role in shaping responsible citizens and should provide a safe environment free from drugs. The government is proposing to establish anti-drug and safety committees in all schools, colleges and other educational institutions across the state,” he said.
Anand said every institution would also be required to appoint a campus safety coordinator to oversee student safety, anti-drug awareness programmes, counselling initiatives and coordination with parents and law enforcement agencies.
DGP reviewed a detailed presentation by EAGLE officials on the proposed framework, implementation mechanism, monitoring system and operational guidelines for the committees. He suggested several modifications to strengthen the guidelines and directed officials to prepare a comprehensive framework incorporating the recommendations.
Anand instructed officials to consider suggestions from the education department, experts and other stakeholders while finalising the standard operating procedures and regulatory guidelines.
Reiterating the state's zero-tolerance policy towards drugs, the DGP warned that stringent action would be initiated against educational institutions found facilitating or ignoring drug-related activities. Wherever necessary, recommendations would be made to the competent authorities for cancellation of their recognition.
He also directed officials to include mandatory anti-drug awareness programmes during student admissions, deploy psychologists and counsellors, strengthen parental involvement, involve NGOs and conduct continuous awareness campaigns.
Anand said the police, education and health departments would work in close coordination to implement an effective anti-drug strategy across Telangana.
