Delhi students to be trained for bomb threats

The October 29 serial bomb blasts in the national capital has sounded a wake-up call for the Delhi government, which is all set to train over two lakh school students to face such threats.

As part of the YUVA School Adolescence Programme, about 900 government school students will be trained in ways to detect bombs and how to take immediate steps thereafter.

The government has also prepared two handbooks for imparting adolescence education, covering preparedness to
handling bomb threats. The second volume, among other things has a chapter, "If there is a bomb threat."

The government has formed a technical group comprising experts from different fields, which has started a training programme for the teachers this week on these subjects. The trained teachers will impart their skills to students in their
respective schools.

Complete Coverage: Delhi Blasts

"The course aims at equipping students to handle any problem they come across in their day to day life. They should
know about preparedness to face a bomb incident, as terrorist activities seem to be on rise," Patanjali Dev Nayar, the
Chairperson of the group told PTI.

The chapter has cited the October 29 bomb incidents in Delhi and highlighted how to handle such situations without
panicking. The students will also learn ways of smooth evacuation from the school, Nayar said.

The chapter throws light on sensitive and vulnerable places that could be used by terrorists. The chapter advises teachers on how to conduct a mock drill on bomb threats.

"The students constitute a major segment. They can do a lot in averting any untoward incident. The students will learn
this topic under the adolecence education programme, which will be incorporated into their textbooks later," said a senior official of the Education Department.

The programme also increases awareness on HIV/AIDS prevention, steps for relief from stress. About 4000 teachers from the government schools will be trained during three - four months.