CHANDIGARH, July 29 —Punjab government will launch a dedicated drug prevention curriculum for students of Classes IX to XII in all government schools starting August 1, School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains announced on Monday.
The curriculum, part of the third phase of the ongoing Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign, will be formally launched at Arniwala in Fazilka district this Friday by Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.
“This initiative marks a new chapter in our fight against drugs,” Bains said at a press conference. “Through evidence-based learning, we aim to equip nearly eight lakh students with the tools they need to say no to drugs and make informed life choices.”
Developed by J-PAL South Asia under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, the curriculum consists of 35-minute sessions delivered every two weeks over a span of 27 weeks. The content includes documentaries, interactive quizzes, posters, and classroom activities designed to build refusal skills, bust myths around drugs, and help students resist peer pressure.
Bains emphasized the scientific foundation of the programme, pointing to its development by leading behavioural scientists and its rigorous evaluation through randomized controlled trials. These pilot trials, conducted across 78 government schools in Amritsar and Tarn Taran during FY 2024–25, involved 9,600 students and were assessed by J-PAL South Asia.
“The results are clear and encouraging,” Bains noted. “Among students exposed to the curriculum, 90% recognized the risk of addiction from trying substances like ‘chitta’ even once, compared to just 69% in the control group.”
The rollout is expected to be one of India’s largest school-based drug prevention initiatives, addressing a crisis that has gripped many parts of the state, particularly in border districts. Senior education officials confirmed that all government schools have been directed to integrate the sessions into their timetables from August 1.
The initiative also aligns with the state’s broader strategy to fight drug abuse through awareness, early intervention, and prevention among the youth. Bains reaffirmed that the government will continue to expand its efforts, saying, “This is just the beginning. We are committed to creating a future where no child falls victim to addiction.”
