Kozhikode, Sunday 07 March 2010: Minister for Home Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said that the government will extend the Student Police Cadet (SPC) scheme throughout the State from next academic year.

Inaugurating a programme to felicitate the SPC, organised by the Kerala Police Association (KPA), Kozhikode city unit, here, Kodiyeri said that the Home Department would coordinate with the Education Department and chalk out a structured programme for the SPC. A high-level meeting would be held soon to deliberate on the scheme, he said.

(The SPC scheme was introduced in Kozhikode for the first time during the golden jubilee of the State school arts festival in January. Nearly 760 students were selected from 16 schools in the city to assist the police manage the crowd at the venues and the traffic at arterial roads on the week-long festival).

The Minister said that the department would consider granting grace marks to students enrolled in the SPC scheme. Special training and other facilities would be provided to them. Kodiyeri said that the services of these students would be utilised for crowd control, traffic management and providing first aid.

“If 760 students could successfully play a key role in an assignment like the arts festival, then 10,000 students will certainly make a difference in the State,” he said. Lauding the efforts of the SPC during the arts festival, he said that the students from the city proved their ability in policing. It was also a proud moment for the Police Department, the Minister said.

(News agency)