In a remarkable example of student entrepreneurship, the students of Ilango Adigal Government Higher Secondary School, Muthirapalayam on Tuesday, June 24, have taken the lead in raising awareness about the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act through innovation, creativity, and peer learning.

The highlight of the programme is the use of a student-developed interactive talking doll named Zara.

Equipped with touch sensors, Zara helps children distinguish between safe and unsafe touch in a simple, relatable way. The initiative, designed and led entirely by students, focused on sensitising 175 girl students to the POCSO Act, according to the report by The New Indian Express.

The doll, designed to communicate in Tamil, English, and Hindi, was used in live demonstrations that captured the attention of the audience and effectively conveyed messages about personal safety. A series of engaging student-led activities marked the day.

These included the performance of a POCSO awareness song titled “My Body, My Right,” composed by the students and tuned by the school’s Head of Institution, K Kokilambal, who also performed it alongside girl students from Classes IX to XII.

Another powerful segment of the event was a dramatic role play based on the 'NO-GO-TELL' strategy, which illustrated practical steps children can take to protect themselves and seek help, said S Sriram, Physics Teacher who coordinated the project and guided the students in developing the content and integrating technology into their outreach, as per the report by The New Indian Express.

This student-led effort underscores the role of youth as powerful change-makers, demonstrating how innovation, creativity, and community engagement can come together to champion the rights and safety of children.