Kozhikode, Monday 02 August 2010: A successful experiment carried out with a selected group of school students to lend a hand to the Police Department during the week-long golden jubilee of School Arts Festival held here in January this year will now become an official project of the State government.

The Student Police Cadet (SPC) project, being launched by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan today, will function along the same lines as the National Cadets Corps (NCC) and the National Service Scheme (NSS). Over 100 government and aided schools and 300 unaided and private schools in the State will be part of the project in the first phase.

Besides, around 800 applications were pending with the department for approval, said P. Vijayan, who along with E. Fazil, NSS State coordinator, Vocational Higher Secondary, outlined the structure and functioning of the SPC.

At present, the SPC is being implemented in 21 schools in the police limits of Alappuzha, Ernakulam Rural and Kozhikode city. More government and aided schools in the State will be inducted into the project. Unaided schools, including those following the CBSE and ICSE stream will have to incur the expenses for executing the project in their respective educational institutions, he said.

The objective of the SPC is to inculcate the students with the spirit of integration and secularism and make them law-abiding citizens in the future.

A Community Police Officer (CPO) and a teacher selected from the school will be entrusted with the task of training the cadets.
There will also be an additional CPO. Both of them would be imparted training by the Superintendent of Police and conferred the post of ‘Honorary’ Sub-Inspector. A Circle Inspector will be made the liaison officer to oversee the SPC units’ functioning.

The SPC will have two wings at the high school (junior) and higher secondary (senior) levels.

Their selection will be based on the overall performance in schools. The students should secure at least 50 per cent marks in examination, should be physically fit and obtain a certificate of good conduct from the class teacher and permission from their parents.

(With news agency inputs)