At a time when parents are complaining of their gadget-addict children and concerns regarding cyber security are on the rise, the Kozhikode district panchayat and the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) authorities are planning to launch a new project to spread awareness on cyberbullying and educate students about cyber issues.               

The project, named ‘Nervazhi’ will be implemented as part of the Educare scheme of the district panchayat which aims for the academic and co-curricular development of students. "The number of cyber-related crimes is increasing with each passing day and more students in the district are unknowingly falling prey to such issues," said programme coordinator A Nasar. "This has prompted us to initiate a project that would guide students to safely make use of the internet, electronic gadgets and social media platforms," he said.

In the first phase of the project, a training programme will be conducted for school teachers to brief them about the project and teach them about cybersecurity. In the second phase of ‘Nervazhi’ which will commence in August, awareness programmes, interactive discussions, group activities and practical session will be conducted for high school and higher secondary school students. As many as 120 schools in the district will be covered and nearly 1.5 lakh students are expected to benefit from the programme. The project will be implemented with the support of the IT mission and field experts. The awareness classes would focus on cybersecurity, cyberbullying and its legal implications, and presentation of case studies. "Committees consisting of Cyber police, IT mission, Childline and Jagrtha Samithi members will be formed to monitor the schools. Students can also approach the committees if they are faced with similar issues," he said.

In the upcoming phases, the project will be extended to more schools including 300 high schools, 200 higher secondary and nearly 70 vocational higher secondary schools in Kozhikode.