Thiruvananthapuram: Initiated a year back in government schools to instill responsibility and social commitment in young minds, the Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme is fast catching the fancy of the teachers and students alike in Kerala.

SPC is a voluntary student organization with an objective of creating a vigilant, peaceful and development-oriented society by inculcating a sense of responsibility, social commitment and the readiness for selfless service in young minds.

The project was conceived at a workshop in Kochi in 2006 and it was launched on an experimental basis in three schools at Ernakulam during 2008.

Last year, the state government decided to extend the project to whole of Kerala by initiating it in two schools each of the 14 districts of the state.

As part of the programme, selected students are given a police uniform and a week-long training on maintenance of law and order, traffic rules, first aid, disaster management. Besides civic sense, sense of equality, a secular outlook, leadership qualities and the love of adventure are inculcated in students.

Senior Superintendent of Police P. Vijayan, the nodal officer of what is billed as the first such initiative in the world, said there has been a huge demand from numerous schools in the state to set up one such unit in their school.

"Right now, the programme is there in 127 government and government-aided schools where more than 12,000 students are enrolled in the project. We will take this initiative forward to other schools in a time-bound manner," said Vijayan.

"Through this project, we want to tell the young people that the need of the hour is to obey the law," said Vijayan.

In the programme, a police officer not below the rank of circle inspector acts as police-student liaison officer while the principal of the school provides two teachers, one of them a female, for conducting the programme.

V. Vignesh, a Class 9 student and an active member of the SPC group at the Government Model High School here, said the programme has given him a new direction in life.

"We feel we have a lot of responsibility to take this novel initiative forward because if only we are successful, will this project achieve its desired objectives," added Vignesh.

Asked if the programme affects his studies, he said: "No, because it takes place either before or after our classes. The response has been tremendous and so selection of students is getting tough."

K.K. Shemeen, a physical education teacher at the Government Boys High School in Malappuram district, said that in an year the activities of SPC have become one of the most talked about things in his school.

"In the first year, the response was lukewarm. But this time, we had a huge response. Every week, we have two special periods where the students are taught on what their role is in this project."

"The only problem we face is the money required and we are told that from this year, finances would not be a problem," said Shemeen. IANS